Adding Fiber to your Diet is Not Easy!
by Scott Murdoch, Ph.D.

Dietary fiber can improve health and help prevent many diseases. But gaining the benefits of a fiber-rich diet may not be as easy as simply adding "fiber" to your nutritional regimen. All fiber was not created equal, and to gain the most from it, there are a few things you need to understand.

What is Fiber and Where Does it Come From?
Simply put, fiber comes from plants. It is that portion of plant cells which remains mostly undigested by the enzymes of human gastrointestinal tract. Dietary fiber has generally been categorized as either water soluble (gums and pectin) or water insoluble (hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin).

Why is Fiber Important?
People who eat a high fiber diet have fewer problems with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension, diverticulosis, Crohn's disease and dental caries.

Water soluble fiber, fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, oats, barley, and rye are know to blind with bile acids and dietary cholesterol. This helps to lower blood cholesterol. Soluble fiber also slows gastric emptying, which means that your blood glucose level won't rise dramatically after eating, so you feel energetic for a longer time.

Water insoluble fiber, fruits, vegetables, legumes, brans, nuts, seeds, whole grain flours, and rice, are known to increase stool bulk (i.e. soften the stool). This type of fiber also speeds up the time that food passes through the digestive tract. This is beneficial because it means that harmful substance have less time to injure the gastrointestinal tract.

How Do we get Enough Fiber in our Diets?
The average estimated daily fiber intake in the U.S. ranges from 3 to 12 grams; over half of the population consumes less than 10 grams of fiber a day. The major nutritional and health organizations recommend that you include 25 to 35 grams of fiber in your diet every day.

Introducing Fiber into the Diet
The first step for increasing dietary fiber is to estimate your current fiber intake. Then you can determine how much fiber you need to add to your diet. Keep in mind that the gastrointestinal tract is a muscle, and increasing fiber intake is like introducing an exercise for that muscle. Just as you would work up to a high intensity exercise program slowly, you must gradually increase your fiber intake (especially if your current fiber intake is relatively low).

A general recommendation is to increase your daily intake about 10 grams every two weeks, until a total intake of 25 to 35 grams is reached.

Many individuals can increase fiber intake dramatically with little or no side effects. On the other hand, some people may experience pain or cramping due to increased gas production. These people need to increase their fiber intake more gradually, at rates lower than suggested.

Fiber plays an important role in optimal nutrition, and eating a fiber rich diet is a major step toward taking responsibility for your own health.

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