Are you eating enough fiber?

High fiber diets are associated with some tremendous health benefits. Fiber reduces the risk of the two most common causes of death: heart disease and cancer. Dietary fiber helps to lower cholesterol levels, aids in the elimination of toxins from the body, reduces risk of colon cancer and several hormonal cancers and can improve conditions associated with hormonal excess such as fibroids or endometriosis.

Check the fiber content of the foods in your diet to determine if you're obtaining an adequate amount. We should aim for at least 40g of fiber each day.

Here is the fiber content of some common foods:

10 g of fiber:
     1/2 cup oat or wheat bran
     2 1/2 tbsp psyllium
     1 cup split peas
     1 1/4 cup lentils
     1/4 cup navy beans

5g of fiber
     2 tbsp ground flaxseed
     1 tbsp chia seeds
     1/4 cup nuts
     1/2 cup prunes


2g of fiber:
     1 serving of a fruit or vegetable
     1/2 cup cooked oatmeal
     1/2 cup cooked brown rice
 
To increase the fiber content of your diet, start slow and beware of fibers that you may not tolerate well such as wheat or psyllium. Consider having oat bran for breakfast, baking some high fiber muffins, adding flax to your smoothies, salads or sauces, eating more beans and lentils and of course, increasing your veggie intake.

Fabulous Flax

Flax seeds are a true health food!

Flax is an excellent source of dietary fiber, alpha-linolenic acid and phytoestrogens. They are also rich in magnesium, potassium, and manganese.

Many of the beneficial health effects of flax are obtained via their phytoestrogen content. Ground flax seed is rich in lignans, one of the major classes of phytoestrogens and daily consumption can result in a significant impact on hormonal balance. Dietary flax can improve menstrual irregularities and menopausal symptoms and has also been shown to decrease the risk of breast cancer.

For men, flax seed has been shown to reduce the risk of prostate cancer and may in fact, decrease prostate tumour growth.

Flax seed is also a fantastic source of fiber and thus can improve bowel regularity, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, lower cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar levels and prevent colon cancer.

Choose freshly ground flax seed to obtain maximum health benefits. I recommend buying whole flax seeds, storing them in the freezer and grinding fresh seeds once weekly using a coffee grinder. Store the ground flax in the fridge or freezer and add to cereals, salads, smoothies, yogurt, sauces or juice. Try including a minimum of 2 tbsp of ground flax into your daily diet. This amount of ground flax will provide 5g of fiber.

While flax oil is also a great addition to the diet, it does not possess the lignan content of ground seeds and thus, it does not provide the same phytoestrogen and fiber benefits as ground flax seed. Flax oil contains more alpha-linolenic acid than the ground seed however only a small amount of this oil can be converted to the health promoting Omega 3 oils. Supplement with a high quality fish oil to obtain the maximum health benefits of Omega 3s.