GROW FINER WITH FIBER

Posted in: Articles by ProSource, Featured Content, Diet Articles, Supplement Articles
By ProSource Product Research Team | Jun 14, 2012

First Class Fiber Can Be the Secret Ingredient to a Better Physique

As an athlete dedicated to your diet, physique and exercise regimen, you certainly have spent a great deal of time and energy counting carbohydrates and protein. Amazing amounts of helpful information have come from science labs and athletes across the country telling us how much of these nutrients to eat. Every bodybuilder or physique athlete knows that consuming a diet which facilitates fat burning and increasing levels of leanness requires more than just the right balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat. One of these nutrients that can help you achieve those nutritional goals, while ripping up your physique, is dietary fiber. While dietary fiber is best known for its health effects (which are too great to pass over), the inclusion of high quality fiber throughout your diet can help your body to burn more fat and control your appetite as well as manage glucose and insulin levels.

Just so we’re clear, we’re not talking your grandma’s fiber supplement, we’re talking about a unique, high-end blend of fiber along with added protein. Dietary fiber comes in two forms, soluble and insoluble (Anderson, Baird et al. 2009). The soluble form dissolves in water and can bind to fat, which goes on to improve cholesterol and blood glucose levels while also removing fat from the digestive system. The insoluble form is not readily digested and as a result primarily adds bulk to the stool in your colon. If research holds true, you likely aren’t consuming enough fiber. The USDA recommends you to consume 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume in your diet; the average American male should strive to consume around 36 grams of fiber each day (USDA 2005).

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Low-Fiber Diet May Raise Teen’s Risk for Heart Disease and Diabetes

TUESDAY, June 5 (HealthDay News) — Teens who eat a low-fiber diet are at increased risk for heart disease and diabetes, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at 559 teens, ages 14 to 18, in Augusta, Ga., and found that they consumed an average of about one-third of the daily recommended amount of fiber. Only about 1 percent of the teens met the recommended daily fiber intake of 28 grams for females and 38 grams for males.

Teens who didn’t eat enough fiber tended to have bigger bellies and higher levels of inflammatory factors in their blood. Both of those conditions are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes, the Georgia Health Sciences University researchers said.

While the study found an association between low-fiber diets and teens having these risk factors, it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

The study, released June 1 in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, also found that a low-fiber diet was associated with higher levels of overall body fat in females, but not in males.

“The simple message is adolescents need to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grains,” study co-first author and bone biologist Dr. Norman Pollock said in a university news release. “We need to push recommendations to increase fiber intake.”

High-fiber foods include grain, cereals, legumes, and certain fruits and vegetables (when not overcooked), according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

A better understanding of the relationships and risks of diet, lack of exercise and obesity in children and teens is particularly important at a time when about one-third of youngsters in the United States are overweight or obese, the researchers said.

However, they noted that getting teens to eat more fiber can be difficult because they have a preference for processed foods, and the side effects of eating more fiber can include intestinal gas, bloating and diarrhea.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about the importance of fiber in a teen’s diet.

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