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Most nutrition conversations begin and end with the big macronutrients – proteins, fats and carbohydrates. You might even hear a bit of talk about vitamin or micronutrient deficiencies as well. However, the nutrient that has experienced the most drastic changes in our typical diets, and the one that might actually be the most important, is fiber. Some experts say that 50,000 years ago our Paleolithic ancestors ate up to as much as 100-300 grams of fiber every day, but the average American (or anyone eating a Western-based diet for that matter) eats only about 12 grams per day. If you think about the dramatic increase in degenerative disease, it’s very easy to see that there might be more of a connection between decreased fiber intake and increased sickness than with any other macronutrient trend. Why no love for fiber?

 

There are two types of fiber we encounter in the foods we eat – insoluble and soluble. Insoluble (can’t dissolve in water) refers to what’s commonly called "roughage" and is found in lesser-processed wheat products, nuts and vegetables. Soluble refers to the type of fiber that can dissolve in water--forming a gel-like substance--and is found in fruits, veggies, legumes/beans and some grain based foods like oats.

 

Fiber has a ton of health benefits. Fiber is a huge factor in your waste system--with insoluble fiber increasing stool bulk and helping to move waste through your intestines--and soluble fiber, binding to bad stuff in the intestines and carrying it out with your bowel movements. These actions help to reduce constipation and promote regular waste excretion, while also helping to prevent Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). Studies have also shown that fiber might also help to prevent Colorectal Cancer. Fiber helps to increase satiety and is known for keeping you fuller for longer. By increasing the transit speed of waste through your intestinal tract to your ileum, fiber helps to induce a satiety response in your body, which tells you not to eat more. These are the obvious and well-known benefits of fiber, but fiber also has a host of other benefits that you might not have heard about.

 

Certain types of fibers help to promote gut health by providing food for good bacteria in your gut, which helps them to multiply and outnumber the bad bacteria. Fiber helps regulate blood cholesterol and blood sugars, and might just be the best weight loss supplement in existence. Fibrous foods are far less nutrient dense (think veggies vs. bread in terms of calories-to-fiber ratio) and they also reduce the rate of intestinal carbohydrate absorption. Fibers also inhibit the absorption of some free fatty acids to the colon, which are metabolized by bacteria into Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA), which suppress insulin. All of these benefits help fight obesity, sickness and degenerative disease, so I’m sure you can see why fiber could very well be the “missing link” to health.

 

If fiber is so good for you, why have we seen such a decrease in the amount in our diets? Dr. Robert Lustig, a Pediatric Endocrinologist at UCSF Medical Center, head of the WATCH program--and essentially the guy who shed the light on sugar and its deleterious effects on our health--has a great explanation. He says that “fast food” should actually be called “fiber-less food”, because the food industry takes the fiber out because it takes too long to cook and eat, and too much fiber reduces shelf-life. He considers sugar a poison, but says that, “When God made the poison (sugar), he packaged it with the antidote: in nature, when there is sugar, there is way more fiber.”

 

So how much fiber should you be eating? Obviously it’s tough to get the 100-300 grams/day that we used to get (especially with so much processing in our food systems). The National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine, along with the Mayo Clinic, both recommend the following guidelines:

 

 

This is one case where more is definitely better, so if you can top those numbers you should try, but these should be your base levels when planning out your diet. There are plenty of little things you can do to pump up your fiber intake:

- Eat whole fruits for snacks and desserts.

- Check your bread and cereal labels and shoot for 5 grams of fiber per serving.

- Eat more veggies and salads!

- Try to find ways to integrate more nuts and beans into meals and snacks.

 

These are just a few helpful tips. Share some tips of your own in the discussion thread below and help everyone to make fiber their friend!

 

Jessica Gereau – Jessica has a BS in Kinesiology from San Francisco St. University. Before becoming a certified personal trainer she achieved a personal weight loss of 60+ lbs, and this has motivated her to help others obtain similar goals. She founded Gym Class Fitness Studio in the Bay Area as a place where people can learn what she learned along the way - that cookies are a part of life, and the hard way is the only way. Jessica currently carries certifications for ACSM and NASM.