How much FIBER should you be consuming? 20-35 grams each day.

Why worry about FIBER? It promotes good digestion and eliminating of food. It helps to reduce cholesterol and lower blood sugar. It creates a feeling of fullness which is useful when trying to reduce weight.

What foods have FIBER? Fruits and vegetables (fresh, canned, frozen and dried), whole grain breads and cereals, beans, peas, barley, nuts and seeds.

What foods do not have FIBER? Meat, eggs, oil, margarine, butter and milk.

What is insoluble fiber? Your grandmother might have called it "roughage." Think of it as "nature's broom" - since it's not digested, it helps "sweep" out your intestines, moving food through the colon so it can be excreted.

What foods have insoluble fiber? Whole-wheat products, wheat and corn bran, vegetables like cauliflower, green beans and potatoes and skins of fruits and vegetables.

What is soluble fiber? Also called gums, gels, mucilage and pectin they dissolve and bind to fat and help excrete it. They also seem to lower blood cholesterol and blood sugar.

What foods have soluble fiber? Dried peas and beans, oats, barley, many fruits and vegetables and psyllium husks.

Source: The American Dietetic Association's Complete Food & Nutrition Education Guide. Roberta Duyff, MS, RD, CFCS. 1998.

This is general information only and should not replace advice or instructions given to you by your physician.

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