This is a guest post by Melissa Marek, RD LD

Fiber is an extremely important part of your daily diet. Its best known benefit is its ability to help keep our bowels moving. Eating enough fiber will help prevent constipation. The added benefit is that it also plays a role in protecting against diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. If that isn’t enough reason to get a daily dose of fiber, it also helps with weight management by helping to keep you fuller longer.

In order to make sure you are getting enough fiber, it helps to understand where it comes from and where you can find it. Fiber comes mainly from plant cell walls, the parts that cannot be digested by the enzymes of the GI tract. For that reason, fiber can be found in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, and grains.

To best benefit from fiber, the recommended daily amount is 21-25 grams per day for women and 30-38 grams per day for men. This is not a difficult goal to meet, but remember that when adding fiber to your diet, you will need to increase your fiber intake slowly and more importantly, increase your fluids. If you don’t drink enough fluids you may suffer from constipation, the very thing that fiber helps alleviate.

To better comprehend the benefits of fiber and how to best meet daily requirements, it helps to understand that there are different types of fiber. They come from different sources and, accordingly, help with different things.

SOLUBLE FIBER may help lower blood cholesterol, especially LDL (bad) cholesterol. It also helps control blood sugar in people with diabetes. You can get soluble fiber from oats, oat bran, dried beans and peas, nuts, barley, flax seed, oranges, apples, carrots, and psyllium husk.

INSOLUBLE FIBER moves bulk through the intestines, which helps prevent constipation. It also controls and balances the pH in your intestines. Insoluble fiber can be found in fruit skins, root vegetable skins, dark green leafy vegetables, whole wheat products, corn bran, seeds and nuts.

Soluble fiber, as it name alludes, becomes a jelly-like mass when mixed with water and ferments in the intestinal tract, but insoluble fiber just absorbs the water and bulks up stool.

The term DIETARY FIBER, which appears on nutrition facts labels is merely a sum of the soluble and insoluble fiber content in a product, per serving.

A common source of fiber is whole grain. Whole grain refers to the entire grain seed (bran, germ, & endosperm).  Whole grain foods are an important source of not only fiber, but also of vitamins, minerals and other health-promoting compounds that you won’t find in a refined grain.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I BE EATING?

According to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 3 or more ounce-equivalents of whole grain products per day is ideal. You can meet this requirement by adding barley, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, millet, rice, rye, oats, sorghum, wheat and wild rice to your daily diet.

What does a one-ounce equivalent of whole grains look like?

• 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
• 1/2 of a 100% whole grain English muffin or bagel
• ½ cup hot cooked oatmeal (Rolled oats or quick oats)
• 2 cups popped popcorn
• 1 ounce baked tortilla chips (About 15 chips)
• 1/3 cup cooked whole wheat pasta
• 1/3 cup cooked brown rice, bulgur, sorghum, or barley

TIPS TO INCREASE YOUR FIBER INTAKE:

• Sprinkle flax meal, wheat germ,  or nuts/seeds onto your cereal, cottage cheese, yogurt, or even frozen yogurt
• Add fresh or dried fruits to your cereal or yogurt
• Substitute whole wheat flour for at least 1/3 of the all purpose flour in baked goods
• Add frozen vegetables to soups or casseroles
• Add beans into a salad, soup, or stew
• Cut prunes into pieces and mix them into yogurt, cereal, or pancake mix

What to do at the supermarket:

Packaging for fiber rich foods now often contain a label promoting its fiber content. These labels make finding fiber-rich foods easy so shoppers don’t have to go through the hassle of checking out the food label or searching for the fiber content. But what do these regulated fiber claims mean exactly?

• 100% Whole Grain or 100% Whole Wheat: The product doesn’t have any refined white flour
• Good source of fiber:  There are at least 3g per serving
• Excellent source of fiber:  There are at least 5g per serving
• When reading the ingredient statement, a whole grain should be listed FIRST!

Here’s a handy list of fiber rich products:

• Oats
• Oat bran
• Grains (Barley, bulgur, Kasha, Amaranth, Quinoa, Couscous)
• Polenta
• Brown rice
• Whole wheat breads and pastas
• Fresh fruits (Oranges, pears, dried figs, apples, berries, raisins)
  —> Choose whole fruits (fresh, frozen, or dried) over juices, which have most of the fiber removed
• Fresh vegetables (Winter squash, peas, eggplant, beets, cabbage, broccoli, artichoke hearts, corn)
• Potatoes & sweet potatoes
• Dried beans
• Nuts

Melissa Marek is a graduate of Texas A&M University with degrees in both Nutritional Sciences and Food Science & Technology.  She has experience with recipe analysis for magazines and restaurants as well as with nutrition facts labeling for large corporations and private label companies. She is a registered dietitian at Axxya Systems, makers of Diet Analysis and Food Labeling software products. Contact her at mmarek [at] axxya [dot] com.

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Still recovering from the most recent UK study showing that organic food is no more nutritious than conventional, we read in the Chicago Tribune that peaches contain excessive amounts of pesticides, some above government safe levels.

It seems that peaches’ delicate constitutions, fuzzy skins and susceptibility to mold and pests cause them to both need and retain pesticides at impressive rates.

So there you go. Even if organic isn’t more nutritious, it’s probably healthier with respect to poison residues your body wont’ get. That’s not to say you should switch to consuming organic food exclusively. Peaches are an extremely sensitive crop. Not all fruits and vegetables are such pushovers.

What to do at the supermarket:

Here’s a short list of the DIRTY DOZEN fruits and vegetables that you can start with.

Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Cherries, Grapes, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Potatoes, Raspberries, Spinach, Strawberries

And for these items, don’t spend more for organic:

Asparagus, Avocado, Bananas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Corn, Garlic, Kiwi, Mangoes, Onions, Peas, Pineapples.

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Image via Wikipedia

Many people reading product ingredient lists see these three names quite often. What’s the connection between them, and why do they appear so often in processed foods?

Read more…

Those giant shiny apples and tomatoes stacked neatly at the produce stand at the supermarket are a marvel of nature. With a lot of help from man. And man’s chemicals.

In order to keep pests from blemishing your fruits and vegetables, farmers spend a fare share of their time and budget on hundreds of chemical solutions. Here are some crazy facts from a group called Pesticide Action Network:

1. 888 million lbs of pesticide are applied each year in the US – about 3 lbs per person.

2. Atrazine, a pesticide that has been banned in Europe, is found in 71% of US drinking water. It’s a hormone disruptor.

3. An average Amercian child gets over 5 “servings” of pesticide residue in their food and water, daily

4. A single strawberry can contain 22 different pesticide residues.

What you need to know:

The problem with pesticides is that they are persistent, they stay in our food even after vigorous washing. Some accumulate in our bodies over years. Not to mention the environmental impact in the soil and water sources. Or the poor farm workers who get sick after handling these toxic chemicals on a daily basis.

The folks at Pesticide Action Network have put together a searchable database where you can see which chemicals are used on which products, and the effect on our bodies. Quite scary.

The effect these residues have on fetuses, infants, and young children is much greater than on adults, so parents should be especially wary.

But please, don’t let this be your excuse not to eat fruit and vegetables! When put into the right context, it is much riskier to your health not to get the nutrients from produce than to be exposed to the pesticide residue.

What to do at the supermarket:

So what’s a worried parent to do?

Switching to organic food seems like a great solution, only it’s out of reach for most people due to the very high price of most organic vegetables, and even higher prices for organic fruit.

An approach taken by many people is selective organic consumption, choosing to go organic for the most heavily chemically drenched products, while sticking to conventional for the rest.

Here are the “dirty dozen” which are simply put, pesticide coated produce. you should buy these organic:

Apples, Bell Peppers, Celery, Cherries, Grapes, Nectarines, Peaches, Pears, Potatoes, Raspberries, Spinach, Strawberries

And for these items, don’t spend more for organic:

Asparagus, Avocado, Bananas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Corn, Garlic, Kiwi, Mangoes, Onions, Peas, Pineapples

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The DivineCaroline site has a delicious list of cheap healthy foods, proving you don’t need to be rich to eat nutritiously.  From the divine:

Food prices are climbing, and some might be looking to fast foods and packaged foods for their cheap bites. But low cost doesn’t have to mean low quality. In fact, some of the most inexpensive things you can buy are the best things for you. At the grocery store, getting the most nutrition for the least amount of money means hanging out on the peripheries—near the fruits and veggies, the meat and dairy, and the bulk grains—while avoiding the expensive packaged interior. By doing so, not only will your kitchen be stocked with excellent foods, your wallet won’t be empty.

read it all…

The list includes nutritional benefits and links to easy recipes. Here is the quick rundown: oats, eggs, kale, potatoes, apples, nuts, bananas, garbanzo beans, broccoli, watermelon, wild rice, beets, butternut squash, whole grain pasta, sardines, spinach, tofu, lowfat milk, pumpkin seeds, and coffee(!).

What you need to know:

Unprocessed food is usually cheaper and healthier for you. But it does require time for meal preparation. Most people that start preparing food at home find the quick and easy recipes that work for them. Getting older children involved in preparation is a double reward.

What to do at the supermarket:

As the post suggests, sticking to the periphery of the supermarket will help you focus on the healthier, unprocessed foods.

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Eat your broccoli! Generations of kids have heard this plea / command at dinnertime. Turns out that mothers were right, again. Broccoli is one of the healthiest foods to be had. And with a bit of work, even kids can find it tasty.

What you need to know:

Broccoli was introduced to North America less than 250 years ago. But only in the 1920’s did Italian immigrants start to seriously cultivate it on the West Coast. Broccoli is a winter vegetable available from late fall to early spring. 99% of the broccoli grown in the US is from California and Arizona.

Broccoli is probably one of the most nutritious vegetables to be had. Broccoli has over 25 cancer fighting agents on top of the standard minerals and vitamins. Half a cup of broccoli contains more vitamin C than a glass of orange juice (almost 70% of the daily recommended value). Broccoli is rich in cartenoids, iron, riboflavin, calcium, potassium, fiber, vitamin K, chromium, and antioxidants.

What to do at the supermarket:

Try to get your broccoli fresh. If not, frozen is a close second. The mass of flowery heads need to be tightly joined, dark green with no yellow patches. If flowers are present, it means the broccoli has began transforming it taste from sweet to something more fibrous. The whole plant should fill rigid. The stem end cut should appear fresh , not dry.

To prepare – cut up the florets and also the stems. Best to keep the nutrients by steaming or briefly blanching. The natural flavor may be enhanced with a touch of salt, garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil.

KIDS: if you are starting your children on broccoli, try to add it dishes that they already enjoy. For example, add the florets to mac & cheese. Keep the stems for stage 2, as they may be too fibrous to chew on for small mouths. Another kids’ favorite is breaded broccoli.

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flickr photo: Laurel Fan

Who hasn’t been told to cut down on fatty food, cholesterol, salt, sugar, and “practically everything that tastes good”. After a while, people just ignore these warnings because it seems that there is nothing healthy left to eat. After several decades of “negative” nutritional messages, messages encouraging people to eat foods with positive nutrients are becoming more prevalent. Products are not just touting low fat content, they are also boasting high levels of fiber, omega-3, and other goodies.

One group that has been an active player in the “Yes to good food” camp rather than the “No to bad food” approach is the Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition. The NRFC is a not-for-profit organization that represents for-profit commodity growers in the US, including the National Dairy Council, the California Avocado Commission, the Wheat Council, and others. All 5 major food groups are in.

We recently spoke with Dr Greg Miller, a spokesperson for the NRFC. Dr Miller is an executive vice president of the National Dairy Council. In our conversation we discussed the coalition’s approach to nutrition information, as well as dairy specific issues (we’ll write about those in a separate post).

The Nutrient Rich Foods Coalition formed about 5 years ago with the goal of creating a paradigm shift in nutrition education. The idea is to move away from 30 years of negatives, to a more encouraging focus on foods with maximum good nutrients per calorie. Some foods pack lots of health into a low number of calories. Others, called junk foods, fill people up with empty calories. The coalition funded several academic studies to explore various ways of defining which foods are nutrient dense and which are not.

An algorithm that was developed by Professor Adam Drewnowski, Director, Nutritional Sciences Program, at the University of Washington, exemplifies this approach. Called NRF9.3, this algorithm uses a food product’s levels of 9 nutrients to encourage and 3 nutrients to limit, and then calculates a nutrition score. The nutrients are those appearing on a packaged food’s nutrition label. They are protein, fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, fats, sodium, and sugars.

Various products can be compared based on their nutrition score. According to Dr. Miller, the algorithm has been validated against the Healthy Eating Index and found to have statistically significant correlations between high scoring foods and better health.

The NRFC is taking an approach similar to that of NuVal / ONQI which we covered a few weeks ago. However, NRFC does not have a retail roll-out planned at this time. The organization is currently focused  on educational and informational activities.

Cynics will say that any organization representing the food industry will prefer messages that encourage eating more (even if more of good foods) rather than messages of “eating less”, this despite the fact that most Americans need to reduce their daily caloric intake. What is clear to the NRFC, as well as anybody dealing with nutrition today, is that consumers are confused about what to eat and what not to eat. They will welcome a solution that makes it easier to choose better foods. And if a system that encourages eating real foods works for people, great.

Some suggestions from the NRFC include:

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According to the US Dietary Guidelines, we’re supposed to get 5 servings of vegetables a day, but most of us fall short. A new study presented this weekend at the annual ADA convention has found a solution. Drink your veggies:

University of California-Davis researchers say drinking vegetable juice is an effective way to help people increase their vegetable intake.

Study author Carl Keen says seven out of 10 adults fall short of the daily vegetable intake recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines. The researchers studied whether drinking vegetable juice could be a simple behavior change to help boost the intake of vegetables to “strive for five,” or eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

Read more…

What you need to know:

There’s great variation in the nutritional content of vegetables. Most contain small amounts of fat and protein, and large amounts of fiber, vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. The variation is important, as each color represents different nutrients found in the plant. Here’s a brief color code  breakdown:

Red – tomatoes (especially cooked) – lycopene. Protection from prostate cancer as well as heart and lung disease.

Purple – beets, eggplant, red cabbage, red peppers – anthocyanins – good for the heart.

Orange – carrots, winter squash and sweet potatoes – alpha carotene, beta carotene.

Yellow/green – spinach, collards, corn, green peas, avocado – lutein and zeaxanthin – good for the eyes.

Green – broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, kale and bok choy – sulforaphane, isocyanate – inhibit the action of carcinogens.

White/green – garlic, onions, leeks, celery, asparagus – allicin and other antioxidants – antitumor properties.

source: The Color Code book

What to do at the supermarket:

When buying vegetable juice, look at the label to see what you’re getting. An 8oz serving of V8 is loaded with salt (480mg / 20% of recommended daily intake). The low sodium version has less than a third of that amount.

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