Making Fiber A Part Of Your Diet

Dietary fiber is the parts of plants that your body can’t digest. Fiber is an important part of a healthy diet. There are two kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble.

Soluble fiber can help lower your blood cholesterol when eaten on a regular basis as part of a low saturated fat, low cholesterol diet. Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apples. Of these, oats have the greatest proportion of soluble fiber.
Helpful Tip - When increasing fiber in your diet, do so gradually and increase the fluids you drink at the same time (unless your health care team advises differently). If you don’t, you may become constipated.

Insoluble fiber does not help lower blood cholesterol, but helps you have regular bowel movements. Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, rye, rice, barley, most other grains, cabbage, beets, carrots, brussels sprouts, turnips and cauliflower.

The American Heart Association (AHA) Eating Plan suggests eating a variety of food fiber sources. Foods that contain fiber also are often good sources of other essential nutrients. Depending on how these foods are prepared, they are often low in fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

http://www.medformation.com/ac/hearthealth.nsf/page/fiber
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Have You Had Your Fiber Today?

Research shows that a high-fiber diet may help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other serious ailments. The problem is that most Americans don't get enough fiber. The typical American eats only about 11 grams of fiber a day, according to the American Dietetic Association. Health experts recommend a minimum of 20 to 30 grams of fiber a day for most people. Based on scientific evidence, the FDA has approved four claims related to fiber intake and
lowered risk of heart disease and cancer.

One claim states that dietary soluble fiber, when part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. In 1997, FDA approved this claim for certain foods containing whole oats and in 1998, for certain foods containing psyllium seed husk. The other three claims, allowed since 1993, are:
* Grain products, fruits, and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of cancer.
* Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.
* Fiber or vitamin A (as beta-carotene) and vitamin C, may reduce the risk of some cancers.
http://www.mdri.com/Resources/Have%20You%20Had%20Your%20Fiber%20Today.htm
High Fiber Health