Although fiber is a very well known nutrient, it is not always very well understood. To give a simple overview, fiber is a carbohydrate that cannot be digested by the human body. There are two main types of fiber namely; Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber is basically just a bulking agent for stools which helps them move through the digestive tract more effectively and comfortably. Soluble fines on the other hand play a big role in important functions like metabolism as well as the overall health, as they are able to gel together with the food we eat and this process can be very beneficial to us in many different ways. Now, to get to what you are really reading this for Weight Loss! How More Fiber Can Help You Lose Weight: To understand how fiber can help you lose weight, we need to first have to look at what fiber does in the body. Fiber Feeds the Good Bacteria in the Gut The gut is filled with millions of microorganisms known as gut flora. There are many different types of gut flora, each responsible for different, important functions in the body including the immunity, blood sugar control, weight management, and even brain function. These microorganisms in the gut need to eat, and this is where fiber comes in. Since the fiber isn t digested in the stomach like other foods, it passes through into the gut unchanged. Now the gut flora can feed on the fiber, stay healthy, and transform the fiber into usable energy. Taking care of the gut flora is known as the probiotic effect, and can help you lose weight effectively. E a s y G u i d e t o i n c r e a s e F i b e r f o r E f f e c t i v e W e i g h t L o s s Page 2
The Good Bacteria Helps Fight Inflammation Seeing that inflammation is a big role player in obesity and other disease, keeping up the health of your gut flora can save you a lot of pain and trouble in the future. Chronic inflammation can cause or worsen many health issues including heart disease, Alzheimer s and metabolic syndrome. Note: Acute (short-term) inflammation is beneficial as it helps the body fight foreign invaders and repair damaged cells. However, chronic (long-term) inflammation becomes a massive problem when it is inappropriately used against the body s own tissues. The Two Main Types of Fiber: Soluble Fiber Soluble fiber is fiber that can dissolve in water. When it is being digested, soluble fiber blends with the food that we eat and in so doing slows down digestion. What this does is it makes you feel fuller for longer, and it allows for better absorption of nutrients. This is why it is great for your overall health, as well as weight loss. Insoluble Fiber This type of fiber does not dissolve in water, and is primarily used to add bulk to the stools and also help them move through the digestive tract more effectively. It does this by absorbing water. It can help clean the digestive tract from the inside by helping to move digested food along the line. Insoluble fiber is also great for helping you feel fuller after a meal, without adding too many calories. This in turn can aid in weight loss. Good Sources of Fiber: The best sources of fiber are fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds. Here are a few that are particularly high in healthy fiber: Beans (legumes) Flax seeds Asparagus Brussels sprouts Oats E a s y G u i d e t o i n c r e a s e F i b e r f o r E f f e c t i v e W e i g h t L o s s Page 3
If you re planning to switch to a high-fiber diet, remember to do it gradually in order to give your body time to adjust. Cramps and diarrhea are common side effects if you increase your fiber intake too quickly. How Fiber Helps With Weight Loss: To put it simply, fiber helps you lose weight by making you feel fuller, and keeping you feeling full for longer. In essence, this will help bring down your daily calorie count. It is important to note that fiber might help you lose quicker and more effectively, but it just like all the other diets in the sense that you need to follow a healthy lifestyle in order to maintain your goal weight. How to Easily Increase Your Daily Fiber Intake: Here are some great tips for high-fiber living that you can use for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks Breakfast: Fancy Eggs: 1/3 cup of chopped onion and one clove of garlic will add 1 g of fiber to scrambled eggs. Or fold the eggs omelette-style over ½ cup of cooked broccoli for an additional 2 g. Smooth Smoothie: Pop a whole orange into the blender to add some flavor to your morning smoothie. One peeled orange has nearly 3 g more fiber than even the pulpiest orange juice. Get Your Nectar On: Fill your juice glass with nectar instead of a watery juice from concentrate. Nectar is apricot, peach, pear, or papaya juice, mixed with fiber-rich pulp. It packs more than 1 g of fiber per 250ml glass. Oat Bran Trumps Oatmeal: make yourself a bowl of oat bran instead of oatmeal as it has nearly 2 g more fiber. Add even more flavor and fiber by stirring in ¼ cup of raisins or chopped dates before nuking it. Flaxseed up: Sprinkle some ground flaxseed over your cereal, or stir a few spoonfuls into a cup of yogurt. Two tablespoons equals almost 2 g of extra fiber. Get A Pear: Go for the red-colored Asian variety as it has an apple-like crispness and shape, and it delivers significantly more fiber 4 g per pear. E a s y G u i d e t o i n c r e a s e F i b e r f o r E f f e c t i v e W e i g h t L o s s Page 4
Spread That Fiber: Buy spreadable fiber, like almond butter, for your whole-wheat toast. Two tablespoons adds 2 g of fiber. Shake Things Up: Make a Manna Shake Smoothie. Per serving the Manna Shake contains 7g of organic fiber and will help to keep you satisfied for longer than any other breakfast meal or shake. The Manna Shake also contains high levels of organic protein, calcium, potassium and magnesium. Lunch: Ditch the White: Make your sandwiches with rye bread, one slice has almost 2 g fiber twice the amount found in white bread. Souped Up: Make sure to store some microwavable soup in your desk for when you need to work through lunch. The best options are lentil, chili with beans, ham and bean, and black bean each have between 6 and 10 g of fiber per cup. Afternoon Snack: Poppity Pop: Pop a pack of light popcorn instead of popping open a bag of potato chips. There's 8 g of fiber in every bag of popcorn. Mix It Up: Graze on trail mix instead of a granola bar. Most granola bars have only 1 g of fiber, while trail mix with dried fruit has nearly 3 g. An Apple a Day : Apples contain an average of 4g fiber per fruit. Some Dry Meat: Biltong contains an average of 2g of fiber per 100g. Dinner: Just Add Chickpeas: Toss ½ cup of chickpeas into a pot of your favorite soup. They absorb the flavor of the soup and tack 6 g of fiber onto your bottom line. Hello Sweet Potato: Swap your regular potato for a sweet potato. Sweet potatoes have 2 g more fiber per tuber than the typical Idaho variety. Go wild: When you make rice, make sure that you are making wild rice. Cup for cup, wild rice has three times the fiber of white. Pasta-Pasta: Prepare whole-wheat or spinach pasta instead of the regular semolina kind. A cup of either has 5 g of fiber. E a s y G u i d e t o i n c r e a s e F i b e r f o r E f f e c t i v e W e i g h t L o s s Page 5
Cooking For Results: Cook broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, and you'll take in 3 to 5 g of fiber per serving, as much as twice what you'll get if you eat them raw. (Heat makes fiber more available.) Dessert: Nuts about Candy: Bars with almonds, like Almond Joy and Alpine white chocolate with almonds, have about 2 g of fiber almost twice the fiber content of bars without. You Scream For Yogurt: Swap your bowel of ice-cream with a bowel of fresh berries with yogurt. One-half cup of raspberries provides 4 g of fiber; strawberries and blueberries pack half that amount. You can also replace your evening meal and desert with a delicious Manna Low GI Shake. As the shake high in fiber and packed with essential minerals, you will get your meal and desert in one glass. E a s y G u i d e t o i n c r e a s e F i b e r f o r E f f e c t i v e W e i g h t L o s s Page 6