CHOOSING HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES Why Worry About Fiber?

WHAT IS FIBER? Fiber is the undigestable part of plants. Fiber absorbs water as food moves through the intestines. This creates larger and softer waste products! Intestinal muscles get stronger so…? They can push waste through faster

A Healthy Gut Transit Time! If you eat a high fiber diet, you will have a good gut transit time of 14 – 24 hours. If you eat a low fiber diet, like the typical American does, you may have a gut transit time as slow as 48 hours. If your gut transit time is too slow, what condition might you have? Constipation! Because waste is moving so slowly, too much water gets reabsorbed from the large intestine back into the blood.

If you have constipation, you might get what condition? Hemmorhoids: swollen veins in the rectal area What condition do you have if gut transit time is too fast? Diarrhea – waste is moving too fast for water to be reabsorbed. That’s why dehydration is such a problem when people have diarrhea.

Benefits of a Healthy Fiber Intake You will have healthier intestines. There is some evidence of a connection to: Healthy blood cholesterol levels Appropriate blood sugar levels Lower chances of obesity.

Evaluate Your Usual Fiber Intake Think about the plant foods you would usually eat in a day. Consider how many servings you would eat. One serving= about ½ cup, a handful, or a slice 1. WHOLE GRAINS Example: 1 Cheerios, 2 Brown Rice, 1 Whole Wheat Bread = 4 Whole Grains Multiply whole grain servings X 2.5 to estimate fiber content. 4 X 2.5 = 10 grams of fiber from whole grains

2. FRUITS Example: 1 Banana, 1 Strawberries, 1 Tangerine = 3 Fruits Multiply fruit servings X 2.5 = fiber content 3 X 2.5 = 7.5 grams of fruit fiber 3. VEGETABLES Example: 1 Carrot, 2 Salad, 2 Broccoli = 4 Veg. Multiply vegetable servings X 2.5 = fiber content 4 X 2.5 = 10 grams of vegetable fiber

3. NUTS Example: 1 serving of almonds Multiply 1 nut serving X 2.5 = fiber content 1 X 2.5 = 2.5 grams of nut fiber 4. BEANS Example: 1 Baked Beans Multiply 1 bean serving X 6 = fiber content 1 X 6 = 6 grams of bean fiber

5. Enriched Grains Example: 2 pasta servings Multiply 2 enriched grains X 1 = fiber content 2 X 1 = 2 grams of enriched grain fiber EVALUATION Total your grams of fiber for one day. Men need at least 42 grams of fiber Women need at least 28 grams of fiber. Write a sentence evaluating your intestinal health and what you could eat to improve.

Who Needs a Gluten Free Diet? About 1 in 133 people have celiac disease. What happens with this disease? This is an autoimmune reaction that causes an extreme sensitivity to the protein gluten. The result is an inflammation of the lining of the small intestine. What happens if your small intestine is inflamed? You can’t absorb nutrients properly. Where do you find gluten? In wheat, rye, or barley products

What are the symptoms of celiac disease? Typically people feel ill after eating gluten or wheat. There can be severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, and weight loss. However symptoms can be more subtle. The only way to find out if you have this disease is to be tested by a doctor.

A small % of people have a sensitivity to gluten. They will not test positive for celiac disease, but they will feel better when they avoid gluten. Can avoiding gluten help you lose weight? No, despite popular belief!