Unlocking the Power of Fiber

It’s So Much More than Keeping You “Regular”

Research shows Americans aren’t getting their fill. Actual intake among adults is about 18 grams of fiber per day for men and 14 for women – far below the recommended daily fiber intake. Here’s how much you should be aiming for:

Men – 38 grams per day

Woman – 25 grams per day

Why the difference? It has to do with body weight. The general guideline is for 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 calories. Typical dietary intake is about 2,000 calories for women and men generally require more.

The Benefits of Fiber

Most people think of fiber as keeping you “regular.” While that’s true, fiber’s benefits to your body don’t stop there. Research has demonstrated fiber also helps:

Lower your weight — Fiber slows down how fast food leaves your stomach. The longer your stomach stays full, the more satiated you are and the less likely you are to keep eating.

Reduce your cholesterol — Fiber binds to bile in your intestines and excretes is. Bile, formed from cholesterol, is necessary to digest fats. So your body gets used to using cholesterol to make more bile, keeping less of it from traveling around in your blood and clogging your arteries.

Keep your gut healthy — Fiber becomes food for the beneficial bacteria in your colon. This is particularly helpful for those with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. It can also help those with IBS.

Improve glucose control — Via gut bacteria, fiber increases short chain fatty acids. These fatty acids have a beneficial effect on glucose control in people with metabolic syndrome.

Balance estrogen levels — Estrogen dominance (most often associated with premenopausal women) leads to a cascade of unpleasant hormonal effects. Increasing fiber helps bind to excess estrogen in the GI tract, keeping it out of the bloodstream.