High Fiber for a Healthy You

Dietary Fiber (sometimes called roughage) is the indigestible portion of plant foods. Fiber is all the rage, and it should be because it keeps you full, and it's great for your digestive system.

Fiber helps to relieve constipation. It makes it easier to go to the bathroom. Food fiber is soluble (fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietary_fiber).

A diet high in fiber is not only helpful for your bowels, it also reduces your risk of developing cancer, especially colon cancer.

High fiber foods include grains and bran, fresh fruits with the skin, dried fruits, raw vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds. Try: Bran cereal, bran muffins, apples (with the skin), broccoli, beans, oatmeal, and fig. How much fiber should you consume? The average is 20 grams. but 40 is ideal.

Try to consume these servings daily:

• 2 to 3 cups of whole grain (breads, brown rice, high fiber cereal, etc.)
• 1 1/2 cups of beans and other legumes
• 4 to 5 cups of fresh vegetables (leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, root veggies and fruits)

Do you have enough bowel movements?

The National Institute for Diabetes, Kidney, and Digestive Diseases says three times a week is normal and healthy for some people. According to Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing system, once a day is ideal. Other experts advocate once or twice a day, while still others say a person should have a bowel movement within two to three hours of a major meal- -or two to three times a day. So you can see that it really depends on who you talk to. My personal opinion is that you above all want to be regular in your pooping schedule, and that one poop a day is ideal.
(4/11/10 http://ezinearticles.com/?Everybody-Poops---What-Your-Poop-May-Be-Trying-to-Tell-You&id=112905)



sources: Julia Kalish "Everybody Poops - What Your Poop May Be Trying to Tell You" http://ezinearticles.com/?Everybody-Poops---What-Your-Poop-May-Be-Trying-to-Tell-You&id=112905 4/11/10


Jacqueline Krohn MD, and Frances Taylor MA Natural Detoxification A Practical Encyclopedia
WA: Hartley and Marks 2000. Print.



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