America! You’re full of it!

By Wendell Fowler

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As a chef, everyone digs when I cook for them, and it often results in... “Gosh darn, Wendell, we dug the tasty dinner last night, but what did you put in it? This morning, stuff came outta me that I ate when I was six.” America’s backed-up, my friends. Why? We don’t eat the 30 to 40 grams of pipe-cleansing fiber our temple needs per day. We need fiber — lots of it — everyday, but we’re not getting it from the Standard American Diet. Like home plumbing, the 20-foot-long organ needs an occasional Roto-Rooter. Alas, Columbia University says the average American consumes 12 to 15 grams. Personally, I never met a mucil I didn’t like. [ad#single-post] Did you know fiber intake is a more important than fat intake? Fiber prevents the bloat of constipation, diabetes, obesity, digestive maladies, Crohn’s, terminal flatulence and heart disease. The more fiber one regularly consumes, the lower the risks. A healthy, happy colon should flow freely. Fiber promotes bowel function, lowering your risk of digestive toxicity. Close your eyes and pin the nose. The average fiber-challenged person with a pooch-pouch carries 20 meals inside with no escape route. Picture the status of meal stewing, seething and creating methane at 98.6 for three days. Or not! As a fibrous meal snakes through the intestine, it scours the intestinal walls of sticky waste matter, reducing the risk of colon-related problems. Look up John Wayne and Elvis’ autopsies online. They both died with 35 pounds of indigestible fecal matter in their colons. It’s TMI, but a gal shared she only greets the Poopatorium once a month. Yikes! Bless her heart; her diet is a disaster. She refuses to eat anything but processed junk, and reviles veggies, fruit, grains and beans. Are you moved yet? Digest this. Fiber is essential for diabetic patients to control glucose. It causes glucose to be speed-bumped from the small intestines into your blood stream. Fiber holds nutrients in the intestinal tract, thus slowing absorption and reducing up-and-down blood sugar levels. Heart disease studies show a diet high in soluble fiber reduces cholesterol by 24 percent, reducing the impact of cholesterol on your arteries. Water-soluble fiber may prevent re-absorption of bile acids made from cholesterol. Fiber binds with them and escorts them out of the body as the liver pulls more cholesterol from the blood. Water-soluble fiber lowers the total cholesterol and LDL without affecting HDL. This fiber also stabilizes blood sugar by slowing down the absorption of carbohydrates into the blood. Psyllium supplementation, in particular, improve blood sugar levels in diabetics. Oat bran seems is the most favorable. Water-soluble fiber is found in oat bran, legumes, psyllium, nuts, beans, pectin and various fruits and vegetables. It forms a bulky gel in the intestine that regulates the flow of waste materials. Insoluble fiber won’t dissolve in water. Our bodies cannot digest the un-dissolvable parts of plant walls found in cereals, bran and vegetables. The function of insoluble fiber is to collect water, which increases stool bulk in the large intestine, promoting bowel movement. As a fiberlicious meal travels through the intestine, it scours the intestinal walls of waste matter, reducing the risk of colon-related problems. Overweight? A high-fiber meal fills you up for a greater amount of time. Choosing whole foods can make a world of difference to your health. Forage for minimally processed foods from fibrous plant sources. Eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, peas, beans, wheat germ, nuts, seeds, ground flax seeds, quinoa, barley, whole-wheat products and oat bran to get your fiber fix. You’re becoming more conscious of what you eat and how crucial informed food choices are to glowing health and reducing medical costs. Good job. This transcendence will provide you with a “moving” experience.

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