Fiber Facts: Soluble Fiber & Heart Disease
Fiber is a substance found only in plants, such as fruits, vegetables, and grains. The part of the plant fiber that you eat is called dietary fiber and is an important part of a healthy diet. The difference between insoluble and soluble fiber:Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble does not. Both types of fiber are important in the diet and provide benefits to the digestive system by helping to maintain regularity. Soluble fiber benefits heart health.
Benefits of soluble fiber:
Soluble fiber has been scientifically proven to reduce blood cholesterol levels, which may reduce your risk of heart disease. The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized food companies to use a health claim for soluble fiber from both psyllium and oats. For example, the new claim for psyllium states, “Soluble fiber from foods with psyllium husk, as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.”
Good sources of soluble fiber:
Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, legumes (beans), certain fruits (apples, pears, citrus), and psyllium. Psyllium is a grain that is found in some cereal products, in certain dietary supplements, and in certain bulk fiber laxatives. Read labels carefully to check for the addition of psyllium. Amount of dietary fiber and soluble fiber recommended:Americans should eat 20-30 grams of dietary fiber each day, including both soluble and insoluble fiber; 10-25 grams of the total fiber should be soluble fiber.
How to get 20-30 grams of dietary fiber a day, including at least 10 grams of soluble fiber.
Include in your meals:
Breakfast
1 cup of fiber-type cereal with low fat milk or 1 cup cooked oatmeal
1 medium banana
Lunch
Large salad including 2 cups spinach leaves
1 large tomato
1 shredded carrot
1 cup of mixed bean medley
1 whole wheat dinner roll
1 sliced pear including skin
Dinner
3 spears of steamed broccoli
1 baked potato
1 orange or tangerine
Snacks
1 apple with peanut butter
Low fat yogurt with 1/3C bran cereal
Whole wheat pita bread or carrot sticks and cucumber slices with ¼ c. hummus (chickpea spread)
Food Sources of Fiber
Food / Serving Size / Total fiber (gms) / Soluble Fiber (gms) / Insoluble Fiber(gms)
FRUITS
Apple, with skin 1 medium 2.9 0.9 2.0 Orange 1 medium 2.0 1.3 0.7 Banana 1 medium 2.0 0.8 1.2
Pear, with skin 1 medium 4.5 1.1 3.4
VEGETABLES
Broccoli 1 stalk 2.7 0.9 1.8 Carrots 1 large 2.9 1.3 1.6
Tomato 1 small 0.8 0.1 0.7
Potato, baked w/skin 1 medium 4.0 1.0 3.0 Corn 2/3 cup 1.9 1.7 0.2 Spinach ½ cup 2.0 0.5 1.5 Zucchini 1/2 cup 2.9 1.3 1.6 Cauliflower ½ cup 2.8 1.3 1.5
GRAINS
Bran cereal 1/3 cup 9.0 1.7 7.3
Oat-bran cereal 1/3 cup 4.4 2.0 2.4
Whole grain cereal 1 cup 3.0 1.0 2.0
Oatmeal, cooked ¾ cup 3.0 1.0 2.0
Whole-wheat bread 1 slice 2.5 0.5 2.0
English Muffin 1 2.0 0.5 1.5
Spaghetti, cooked 1 cup 2.0 0.5 1.5
LEGUMES
Kidney beans ½ cup 6.5 2.5 4.0
Pinto Beans ½ cup 5.9 2.3 3.6
Green Peas 2/3 cup 3.9 2.7 1.2 Lentils 2/3 cup 4.5 1.7 2.8
Peanut butter, chunky 2 tablespoons 1.5 0 1.5
http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/contentAmerican Heart Association Inc., 1997
Ten Great Ways to “Fiber Up” and get 20-30 grams of dietary fiber a day, including at least 10 grams of soluble fiber.
1.) Eat a variety of food - with a mix of foods, you consume a mix of fibers both soluble and insoluble. And you get the benefits of both types.
2.) Pick high-fiber snacks - popcorn, fresh fruit, raw vegetables, and whole grain crackers.
3.) Remember breakfast - a good time for fiber-rich foods; besides bran cereal, try oatmeal, whole-bran muffins, or whole-wheat waffles. In fact, check food labels for a cereal with three or more grams of fiber per serving. Top with fruit for a little more fiber.
4.) Switch to whole grains - in breads, buns, rolls, bagels, cereal, and pasta to name a few. Besides the fiber, making sandwiches on a variety of whole-grain breads adds interest and taste. Breads with whole grain include cornbread from whole, ground cornmeal; cracked wheat bread; oatmeal bread; pumpernickel bread; rye bread; and, of course, whole wheat bread.
5.) Plan to eat beans two or three times a week – beans are among the best fiber sources around and add exciting new flavors to dishes; examples include kidney beans, chickpeas, and lentils.
6.) Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily - plan a cooked vegetable and a salad for dinner (that’s two vegetable servings) and enjoy another for lunch. You have just two more to go!
7.) Enjoy fruits and vegetables with the edible skin on - with the skin, a medium potato has 4.0 grams of fiber. Skinless, it has less – 2.3 grams. Also enjoy the flavor and crunch of edible seeds, for example, in all kinds of berries, kiwi, and figs. They too supply fiber.
8.) Choose whole fruit more often than juice - fiber is found mainly in the peel and pulp; usually both are removed when juice is made.
9.) “Fiberize” your cooking style - substitute higher-fiber ingredients in recipes, such as using part whole-wheat flour in baked foods. Increase fiber content of meals such as adding bran to mixed dishes like meatloaf.
10.) Check food labels for fiber facts - almost all food labels carry a Nutrition Facts panel, which lists the amount of fiber per serving. Look for words, such as “high in fiber” or “more fiber”, on labels, too. Spot fiber-rich ingredients on the ingredient list. For example, look for “bran,” “whole-grain, “ or “whole-wheat flour.”
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