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The importance of high fiber low fat foods
One of the easiest and most effective changes you can make toyour diet is to eat more foods rich in fiber, and fewer foodsrich in fat. There are many reasons to boost the intake of fiberwhile controlling fat, including increased fitness, decreasedweight and better overall health.It is a fact that most people consume too much of what theyshould not – things like sugar, salt and fat, and not enough ofwhat they should – like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.That means that many people are not getting sufficient fiber intheir diets, and they may suffer a variety of heath effects as aresult.Of course before you can eat more fiber you need to know wherethat fiber comes from. Gauging the amount of fiber in your dietis yet another reason to read nutritional labels carefully. Allpackaged and processed foods in the grocery store must carrythese labels, and they detail such things as fat, fiber,calories and nutrient values. Getting familiar with thesenutritional labels is a necessary first step to improving anydiet.One important note about increasing the level of fiber in yourdiet. While increasing fiber and decreasing fat is certainly aworthy goal, it is best to take things gradually until your bodyadjusts to the change. Those accustomed to low levels of fiberoften experience bloating, cramps, gas and abdominal pain whensuddenly boosting the amount of fiber in their diet. Increasingthe level of fiber gradually helps to avoid these unpleasantside effects.Most plant based foods contain at least some fiber, but sometypes of foods contain more than others. The only foods that donot contain fiber are animal based products. That means thatmeats, poultry, seafood, eggs, milk and dairy products do notcontain any fiber. It is important to keep that fact in mindwhen planning healthy meals.The foods highest in fiber, containing more than 6 grams perserving, include such healthy staples as dried beans, legumes,dried peas, dried fruits, nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seedsand many types of berries. These foods are excellent sources offiber.Not as high in fiber as those above, but still great sources offiber are apples, pears, barley, bran muffins, lima beans, brownrice, snow peas, green peas and sweet potatoes. Baked potatoesare also good sources of fiber, as long as the skin is consumedalong with the flesh of the potato. All these foods contain from4 to 6 grams of fiber per serving.Many vegetables and fruits also contain fiber, as does ryebread, wheat bead and melons. Most of these foods contain from 2to 4 grams of fiber, so you will need to add more of them to getthe most out of their fiber content.It is important to take fiber content into account as you doyour weekly grocery shopping. Getting into the habit of readinglabels and choosing high fiber foods is the best way to make along term commitment to healthier eating. It is important to choose foods high in fiber during every tripto the grocery store. When choosing bread, crackers and otherbaked goods, for instance, you should strive to find whole grainvarieties that are rich in fiber. Wheat and rye bread are goodsources of fiber, as are bran muffins and many kinds of cereal.Choosing cereals that are rich in fiber is a great way toincrease the level of fiber intake while enjoying a deliciousbreakfast every morning. Cereals that contain wheat bran and oatbran can be excellent sources of fiber. The most important thingis to read the nutritional label and not rely simply on theclaims made on the box.Many people are under the assumption that cooking freshvegetables and other fiber rich foods destroys their fibercontent, but luckily this is not the case. While it is true thatovercooking certain vegetables can result in some loss ofnutrients, cooking has no effect whatsoever on fiber content. Sofeel free to prepare those healthy foods any way you want.
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