The Male Health Center - Weight & Fiber

Why Fancy Fiber?

Understanding an important—and too often forgotten—friend on the dinner plate
Not too long ago fiber was no health food; it was something you wore. Nowadays, though, it's another one of those foods that most of us don't get enough of.

What in the world is "dietary fiber," and why should we want to eat it?

Put simply, fiber is food we don't digest. Found mainly in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, it helps carry other foods through our digestive systems. The benefits—short and long-term—of getting plenty in our diet are numerous:

The most immediate reason to favor fiber is to prevent or relieve constipation. It tends to soften and speed bowel movements.
For similar reasons, more fiber is a front-line preventive for hemorrhoids.
Some types of fiber may directly lower cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease. At least as important for a healthy heart, when you eat fiber, you're not eating fat.
Likewise, fiber is a major player in any successful weight-loss program. It's filling and contains few, if any, calories.
Fiber may reduce the risk of colon cancer by speeding the digestive process and diluting cancer-causing substances in the intestines.
People with diabetes are less likely to have sharp blood-sugar level swings if they eat high-fiber meals, because fiber slows the absorption of glucose in the small intestine.

The typical American man eats only about half as much fiber as the National Cancer Institute recommends.

By all means, try to include more fiber in your diet, but don't binge on it. You know what happens after the once-a-year chili bean cook-off. It takes your body time to adjust to a high-fiber diet, and too much too quickly can cause gas and cramps and make you feel bloated.

Instead, concentrate on including a serving of wheat-bran cereal, oatmeal, lentils, pinto or kidney beans, apple, banana, grapefruit, orange, pear, broccoli, spinach, or potato with each meal.

Before long, the fiber you eat will give you some extra room in the fibers you wear.

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