|
|
Fiber Benefits
Fiber Benefits
by: News Canada
When most people think of dietary fibre (aka fiber), they think about
constipation and maintaining their
regularity. Fibre's benefits go well beyond keeping you regular and experts agree
that it can actually have a significant impact on heart health and overall well-being.
With increasing demands on their time, it is becoming more and more difficult for
Canadians to ensure that they are getting their daily recommended intake of fibre.
"I think many Canadians underestimate the importance of fibre," says Jennifer Gibson,
Registered Dietitian. "While fibre is an important part of your diet and it
helps to prevent constipation, research shows that it can also help prevent serious
illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes and colon cancer."
Fibre's benefits are a result of its structure; it does not get broken down by
digestive enzymes in the stomach and small intestine.
- fibre may lower blood cholesterol
- fibre can reduce the risk of diabetes
- fibre also speeds the movement of digested food through the intestine, reducing the amount of
time your colon is exposed to cancer-promoting substances formed during digestion
Despite these many benefits, most Canadians are not getting enough fibre
in their diet. Statistics show that Canadians are consuming, on average,
only 15 grams of fibre a day. Comparatively, experts say that they should be
getting at least 25 to 30 grams of fibre a day.
"It's important for all Canadians to find a way to boost their fibre intake by
increasing their consumption of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Like many people,
if they don't feel like they're getting enough from food, they can try adding a
supplement like Benefibre. It can be added to coffee, water or even soft
foods and is virtually taste-free," says Ms. Gibson.
Many consumers may be surprised at some sources of high fibre. While foods like whole
grain breads and cereals are high in fibre, there are many fruits and vegetables
that have as much, if not more, fibre content. For example, one cup of raspberries
has 8.4 grams of fibre, compared to a bran muffin that contains just 5.2 grams of fibre.
By making the following small changes, you can easily boost your fibre intake:
- Switch to a high-fibre breakfast cereal that contains at least 5
grams of fibre per serving.
- Add fruit to every meal. Apples, bananas, oranges, pears and berries are
good sources of fibre.
- Snack on raisins during the day. By adding a half of a cup of raisins you
can add 7.5 grams of fibre to your diet.
- To get even more fibre out of the fruits and vegetables you do eat,
leave the peel on whenever possible.
- Mix Benefibre, a new fibre supplement, into a beverage such as coffee, juice,
water or even yoghurt, daily to add 3 grams of fibre to your diet.
News Canada
About The Author
News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free
news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web.
News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print,
radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use,
editorial "fill" items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our
primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for
marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors.
Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged
in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every
Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and
commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web
sites Canadians visit most often.
Visit News Canada
and learn more about the NC services.
The complete list of dietary fiber (fibre) related articles on this site:
|