Fiber, Fiber Everywhere!

Many of my clients suffering from gastrointestinal and digestive problems have been told by their gastroenterologist to increase their fiber intake. They go out to Giant and buy Fiber One® bars and Benefiber® and come back to me complaining of an upset stomach. Let me break it down for you: all fiber is not created equally.

Research has shown that the fiber naturally found in beans, lentils, raw nuts and seeds, skins of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains (100% rye, brown rice, old fashioned oats, quinoa) do have numerous health benefits including lowering cholesterol, reducing constipation, decreasing risk of diabetes and heart disease. This research cannot necessarily be extrapolated to include the added fiber found in a lot of foods. Scan the rows of the grocery store and you will find yogurt, cottage cheese, cereal, cookies, sweeteners, and even water with extra fiber. These fibers can be termed “functional fibers” and include chicory, inulin, polydextrose, resistant maltodextrin, oligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides, and methylcellulose. Fiber One® brand, for example, generally uses a combination of barley flakes and chicory root extract (not to mention high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils).

Now some functional fibers do have their benefits, but if you rely on these manufactured, processed products for your fiber intake, you are kidding yourself. Psyllium husk (e.g., Metamucil®), can help with constipation and is cholesterol-lowering. Inulin (aka “chicory root extract”) is a prebiotic, meaning it provides food to healthy bacteria in the gut but its possible effect on disease risk reduction is still unknown. An isolated fiber ingredient called “maltodextrin,” conversely, is less likely to have an effect on digestive regularity or disease prevention, though more research is needed. Additionally, if your gut is not used to a bolus of fiber, you will experience gas or pain. Instead of adding a bar to your diet, slowly increase fiber with these tips:

1. Mix ground turkey with black beans
2. Switch from white rice to brown rice or quinoa
3. Aim for apples and pears instead of bananas and orange juice
4. Add nuts and berries to old fashioned oatmeal
5. Choose 100% whole grain bread
6. Leave the skins on your fruits and veggies and eat them raw once in a while
7. Make a dip from lentils or add them to your soup

You can surely meet your fiber needs without relying on manufactured products and gain the health benefits - it kills two birds with one stone.

Low Fat Diets Could Increase Heart Disease Risk

Nutrition experts are suggesting what EB already knows...and practices! EB Nutrition food plans focus on the balance of complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Mono- and polyunsaturated fats are integral for key functions within the body including hormone production, vitamin absorption, organ protection, satiety, and energy production.

The difference in benefits lies in the type of fat. Saturated fats, which are solid at room temperature, are given their name because they are "saturated" with hydrogen molecules. Unsaturated fats contain one (mono) or many (poly) double bonds, giving them more fluid properties. Because saturated fats are solid, they tend to congregate and collect on artery walls, therefore increasing risk for heart disease. One more fat to consider, trans fats, are even more detrimental to health than saturated fats. These man-made fats are chemically a shape that the body does not recognize and therefore has a hard time processing, leading to inflammation and heart disease.

On the other hand, by skimping on fat, as this article suggests, we end up over consuming carbohydrates and sugar. This can lead to weight gain, a huge risk factor for heart disease, as well as insulin resistance and possibly type II diabetes, an even greater risk for heart disease. Furthermore, excessive carbohydrate consumption contributes to elevated triglyceride levels, which is one blood marker used to assess heart disease risk.

In conclusion, don't low-anything in your diet. Moderation is key to health, and by balancing these vital macronutrients, you can achieve balance within your body - both physiologically and emotionally.

Nutrition in the News

The media is doing my job this week - spreading the message about health and nutrition.

NPR did a spread this morning on trans fat labeling. Since 2006, manufacturers have been required to label their products that contain trans fat. Trans fats, or hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, are a made-up fat. Scientists added hydrogens to liquid fats to preserve the oil and make their shelf life longer. It worked, but in the meantime we have a fat that causes inflammation in the body, leading to high cholesterol, heart disease, arthritis, and poor immunity.

The FDA regulates the labeling and addition of trans fats. Labeling laws only require that food producers indicate trans fats in their products containing over 0.5 grams per serving. So labels read "0 grams trans fat" even if the food contains 0.49 grams per serving. The tricky part is, the manufacturer can easily change their serving size to make sure it does not reach the 0.5 barrier. Take Cheetos for example. The front of the package boast 0 grams trans fat, but the snack food in fact has hydrogenated oils, meaning it definitely has trans fat. So make sure to check the ingredients for key words like hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oils and avoid foods like margarine, certain baked goods, commercial peanut butter, and some snack foods like chips or crackers.

Read the whole story here.

Butter vs. Margarine

Margarine became popular in the United States during World War II when dairy products were extremely scarce. Today margarine is made from a variety of animal or vegetable oils and sometimes mixed with skim milk, emulsifiers, and salt. The vegetable oils have been chemical treated to last longer on the grocery shelf. The oils they are made from start off as unsaturated fats, which means they contain double bonds. During production, hydrogen atoms are added to these double bonds, making a hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil. Food producers have succeeded in making a shelf stable product, but in doing so, have created a "martian fat."

Hydrogenated fats, or trans fats as they are also known, are not broken down by the body well. The trans refers to the shape the carbon chain that makes up the fat is in. Normally fats are in a cis shape, so the awkward trans shape prevents a problem. The digestion is extremely stressful on the body and results in increased inflammation, which leads to problems such as arthritis, heart disease, poor immunity, and symptoms associated with asthma and allergies.

So is margarine healthier than butter? Absolutely not! Butter is indeed a saturated fat, but it contains no trans fats. Butter can be safely used as a condiment, ie spread on bread, in small amounts. Butter does contain dietary cholesterol, but this should not effect blood cholesterol levels unless the butter is used at a high temperature. It is at high temps that the bonds in butter breakdown creating free radicals and plaque buildup in the arteries.

Keep in mind that butter is still a fat, which means it has over twice as many calories per gram as carbohydrates and protein. So make sure it is used strictly in moderation as a condiment and you will be in good shape!