Hi everyone–

My name is Tina, and I have a blog named Downsized, about health and fitness news and my own experiences with healthy living and weight loss. I came across an article about fiber awhile ago and volunteered to blog for Lindsay while she was moving and shaking her way to her new home. (Good luck with the move, Lindsay!)

Recently, Slate published an article warning fiber addicts about potentially misleading information regarding the type and quality of fiber used to supplement many popular foods chosen by health-conscious people. As more and more emphasis is placed on healthy diets with adequate fiber (21-25g a day for women and 30-38g a day for most men according to the Institute of Medicine), more of us are looking for the quick fix of a high fiber convenience food, especially when the apples and broccoli we eat may not come with an obvious nutritional label. Companies are taking advantage of this, adding fiber to dairy products, snack foods and cereals.

Most consumers don’t realize this isn’t the dietary fiber found in natural foods, like fruits and veggies. It’s a synthetic additive called polydextrose and  maltodextrin, or it’s a naturally occurring functional product like  inulin. Although these products are FDA-approved, the benefits of these additives are unknown–if they even exist.

As the Slate article states, the problem is the FDA doesn’t require food manufacturers to delineate how much of a product’s fiber is naturally occurring versus an additive,  much to the chagrin of consumer watchdog groups. In the meantime, Americans are fooling themselves into thinking they’re eating healthy just because their bread is boosted with an extra 5 grams of fiber per slice and the ice cream they’re eating has 3 grams of fiber, whereas before it had none.

It’s reminiscent of the fat-free craze of the 80s and 90s when people were convinced their diets were better simply by replacing their high fat potato chips and cookies with modified products that instead had fat substitutes and added sugar. The reality is: there’s no such thing as a quick fix. Natural is usually better. Unfortunately, Americans seem to be coming around to that fact very slowly, to the financial benefit of food manufacturers who can continue producing “healthy” convenience food as Americans continue to get unhealthier and fatter.

Despite priding myself on health-consciousness and being a savvy consumer, I am just as much a sucker for this as anyone else. I’ve used everything from Fiber One muffin mix and chewy granola bars to All Bran cereal and drink mixes.  In an average day, I generally get 30-45g of fiber.

Some of these additives don’t even have any proven effect on regularity or bowel health. That would explain why I’m not running to the bathroom after my occasional afternoon snack of a Fiber One bar (9 grams) and All-Bran Lemonade (a whopping 10 grams). That one snack supposedly gives me 76% of the daily fiber recommendation. Instead, I’d be better off eating  2 cups of raspberries for 16g of naturally-occurring, dietary fiber and just 128 calories, compared to the previously listed snack which is 160 calories.  Or add a cup of homemade lentil soup to your lunch–lentils pack 16 grams of fiber per cup. The combo of fiber and a hot soup will leave you satisfied for hours!

If you want to get a sense of whether the fiber in what you’re eating is naturally occurring or an additive, look at the ingredients. Naturally occuring fiber won’t be listed since it’s a byproduct of one of the ingredients (ie: apples, nuts). Instead, look for inulin, polydextrose or maltodextrin listed in the ingredients.

Did you know you could get your daily fiber requirement in simply by consuming the following four foods throughout your day:

• 1 apple  (4.4 grams)
• 1 pear (5.1 grams)
• 1 cup of oatmeal (4 grams)
• 1 cup of black beans, lentils, baked beans or split peas (10.4-16.3 grams–and all happen to be a good source of protein as well)

Other tips to increase your fiber:

• Have fruit or veggies at every meal or snack.
• Add bran cereal (oat or wheat) to replace the breadcrumbs or some flour in recipes for meatloaf, meatballs, baked goods or even to serve as a breaded topping for casseroles.
• Switch to whole grain breads and replace some of the flour in the baked goods you make with whole wheat flour.
• Replace regular pastas with whole wheat pastas–or better yet, beans and lentils.

Whatever you do, make sure fiber increases happen in moderation and are paired with an increase in water consumption.  If you’re looking to maintain or create a diet high in dietary fiber, check out this Mayo Clinic link that notes the fiber content of natural foods.

How many grams of fiber do you eat in a day? How much of it is dietary fiber versus an additive?