Fitting fiber in your diet

What is Dietary Fiber?

Dietary fiber is a complex carbohydrate that your body can neither digest nor absorb. Although it is not considered a nutrient, fiber still plays an important role in good health. There are two main types of dietary fiber, insoluble and soluble. Each plays a unique role in your body.

Insoluble fiber is generally referred to as "roughage". Insoluble fiber promotes regularity and helps prevent constipation and diverticulosis by adding bulk and softness to stools and decreasing the time food spends in your intestines. Good sources of insoluble fiber include wheat bran, whole-grain cereals, breads, pasta and rice, and vegetables.

Soluble fiber is recognized as offering the greater heart-health benefit. As soluble fiber passes through the intestines it forms a gel, binding with certain digestive enzymes (bile acids) made in the liver, and promoting their excretion as waste. Because the liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, it must draw additional cholesterol from the blood in order to make more. The net result is a reduction in cholesterol absorption and a decrease in total and "bad" (LDL) cholesterol levels. Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, oat bran, barley, legumes, psyllium husks, pectin in fruits and some vegetables. For optimal cholesterol-lowering results, consume at least three servings of foods from this list each day.

Other Health Benefits

Guidelines for optimizing heart-health include achieving or maintaining a healthy body weight. Fiber-rich foods can fit into any weight loss plan; they are generally low in calories and fat, bulk up in your stomach, and help you feel fuller after a meal. This means fewer cravings for snacks during the day. Fiber-rich foods also generally take longer to chew, helping to slow you down and reduce your total calorie intake.

Soluble fiber can also regulate blood sugar levels. It is proposed that soluble fiber slows the emptying of the stomach, resulting in a slower release of sugar into the bloodstream. By helping regulate blood sugars, soluble fiber may reduce the amount of medication needed for persons with diabetes.

How Much Fiber do You Need?

Typically, Americans consume around 12-15 grams of fiber each day, an inadequate amount for optimizing heart-health. Dietary guidelines recommend healthy Americans consume between 25 and 35 grams of dietary fiber each day. In order to reduce cholesterol levels between 10 and 20 grams should be in the soluble form

Let the Food Label Guide You

Here are a few key points to consider when determining a food’s fiber content:

1. Look for the Health Claim

   The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved two health claims that allow food companies to promote the heart disease-fighting benefits of whole grains on qualifying products. Choose often foods boasting one of the following claims:

   "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain some types of dietary fiber, particularly soluble fiber, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

   "Soluble fiber from foods such as (name of soluble fiber source and/or food product) as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

2. Check out the Label

   The Nutrition Facts panel on food labels provides you with specific amounts of dietary fiber per serving. Choose foods boasting ‘High Fiber’ most often.

   ‘ High Fiber Food’: means the food product has 5 grams or more fiber per serving.

   ‘Good Source of Fiber’ : means the food product has 2.5 to 4.9 grams fiber per serving.

   ‘More or Added Fiber’ : means the food product has at least 2.5 grams fiber per serving.

3. Not All ‘Whole Grains’ Created Equal

   Just because a bread or bagel says whole wheat doesn’t mean it has adequate dietary fiber. In many cases, noted whole wheat products have enriched or bleached wheat or white flour as the main ingredient (meaning the grain used to make flour has been stripped of it’s fiber). You should see the words whole listed as part of the first ingredient of the product (e.g. whole-wheat flour) to determine if it is truly a whole grain. If not, consider making another choice.

4. Quick Guide

Luckily fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and beans are good sources of fiber and don’t require food label reading to make that determination. But because not all foods listed as whole grain contain adequate fiber, it is your duty to become food label savvy.

What may appear to be a whole wheat bread, for example, may in actuality be enriched white flour with some caramel coloring. When purchasing whole wheat breads, look at the first few ingredients and choose those that say stone ground whole wheat flour, 100% whole wheat flour, cracked wheat, or ‘whole’ barley, corn, etc. Steer clear of those listing enriched or bleached flour as the first ingredients. Follow this quick guide when purchasing breads and other grains:

• Choose breads with at least 2 grams or more fiber per serving or slice.
• Choose crackers with at least 2 grams or more fiber per serving.
• Choose cereals that contain at least 3-5 grams or more of fiber and no more than 8 grams of sugar per serving. Many cereals that appear to be whole grain contain large levels of added sugar, which only increase the caloric density of the food and outweigh the benefit of the fiber.
• Choose rice and pasta with at least 3 grams or more fiber per serving.

Fitting Fiber in Checklist

Use this as a checklist to ensure you are getting the recommended 25 or more grams of dietary fiber each day. Because most foods contain both the soluble and insoluble fibers, focus on getting adequate levels of all food sources of fiber to reap heart-health benefits.

1. Aim for 4 or more servings of vegetables each day.

• One serving: ½ cup cooked vegetable, 1 cup raw.
• Have a large salad for lunch or dinner.
• Enjoy vegetable-based soups for a change.
• Throw cup-up veggies in a bag for a midday snack.
• Dip vegetables in a low-fat salad dressing.
• Put vegetables into marinara sauce instead of ground meat.
• Have at least one meatless, vegetable–based meal per week.
• Fill half your dinner plate with vegetables each day.

2. Strive for 3 or more servings of fruit each day.

• One serving: medium-sized piece of fruit, 1 cup most melons and berries, 2 Tbsp. raisins, ¼ cup most dried fruits, ½ cup canned fruits.
• Top your favorite cereal with berries or sliced bananas.
• Top whole grain waffles or pancakes with fresh fruit.
• Snack on fresh, canned (in own juice) or dried fruits throughout the day.
• Add a sweet touch to salads by adding raisins, grapes or mandarin oranges.
• Use fruit as a refreshing dessert.
• Throw fruit, nuts and honey on top of nonfat yogurt for a yummy treat.
• Opt for whole fruits instead of juice on most occasions; even juice with pulp contains less fiber than the whole fruit.

3. Consume a minimum of 3 servings of whole grains each day.

• Start the day off right with a bowl of high fiber cereal (cooked or ready-to-eat). Choose barley or oats for optimal cholesterol-reduction.
• Choose brown rice over white.
• Choose whole wheat pasta over white.
• Try a new grain side dish each week like bulgur, barley or buckwheat.
• Remember to choose breads, pita, crackers and bagels containing whole in the first ingredient.

4. Incorporate beans, lentils, nuts or seeds into your daily eating patterns.

• One serving: ¼ cup or 1 ounce peanuts or tree nuts, ½ cup cooked beans or lentils, 2 Tbsp. seeds or peanut butter.
• Toss garbanzo, kidney or navy beans onto a salad.
• Change the pace and add roasted soybeans, walnuts or almonds to salads or stir-fries.
• Enjoy nuts or seeds with yogurt and a dash of honey.
• Replace cooked beans or lentils for meat in your favorite recipe.
• Have bean soup or meatless chili for lunch.
• Create a homemade trail mix of nuts, seeds, dried fruit and wheat cereals.
• Enjoy pureed bean dishes such as hummus or low-fat refried beans for a change in texture.

However you do it, strive to check off at least three of these four great fiber goals each day. Don’t forget to drink plenty of fluids (64 ounces for most healthy individuals) to avoid constipation. Increasing your dietary fiber brings you one step closer to improved heart-health. Enjoy the versatility and flavors these foods have to offer.

Good Sources of Fiber

Click here for a sample 1,800-calorie high-fiber diet. See just how easy fitting fiber in can be!

For more information on a heart-healthy diet plan, please contact the Preventive Cardiology and Rehabilitation Program at 216.444-9353 (or toll-free at 800/223-2273, extension 49353) and we can schedule a nutrition consultation - or - use our Remote Cardiac Nutrition Counseling Services.

© Copyright 2008 The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. All rights reserved. 8/06