Adequate intake of dietary fiber is associated with digestive health and reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, hypertension, certain gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. According to consumer research, the ...
SO fucking true. I feel like it’s actually impossible to even find foods with enough fiber in them in the first place. I might only get 5% of my daily fiber from a full meal, but at least my Snickers bar has 20g of protein in it for some reason.
We always somehow manage to focus on the wrong things.
I eat a legume at pretty much every meal. Not all of them are high fiber foods, like peanuts or peanut butter, but most have some. Peas have 7g per serving. Peanuts have 2g per serving. Green beans have 3g. The actual beans start running away with it, though, with something like 15g of fiber per serving.
All those go a long way to hit 25g per day.
Basically legumes are how I get affordable protein, too, so it’s hitting multiple needs with a cheap and easy ingredient.
My teen is an athlete and very much into muscle building. He tracks macros, eats more calories than the rest of us (and still lost weight as a freshman with unlimited meal plan), and always looks for more sources of lean protein or omega 3’s.
But when I try to explain the importance of fiber, “I don’t get constipated and don’t need to shit more so why should I care?” Maybe it’s my problem not knowing how to reply to that in a way that communicates the importance
For a body builder, fiber decreases insulin resistance and decreases inflammation . Food high in fiber have a low glycemic Index allowing for a continuous release of energy .
Oatmeal is one of the best carb sources for bodybuilding .
He should be eating piles of veggies to hit the micro’s needed for loosing fat and building muscle
Fiber feeds your gut bacteria, making your gut health better, making your overall health better.
It helps to regulate and slightly inhibit absorption of carbs ensuring a longer lasting feeling of fullness. In nature, carbs and fiber always come packaged together in commensurate amounts… for example potatoes have about 20% carbs and a skin (the fiber) that is thin enough to be edible while sugar cane has so much carbs (about 70%) that the included fiber makes it like a stick.
He needs to understand that eating fiber is a workout for the gut. It makes the gut strong, so that it can absorb more nutrients from the meat he eats later. He may be shitting fine, in fact he may be shitting so well that he’s not absorbing the full nutrition from his food. Tell him not to be lazy, don’t skip gut day.
Whole grains, fruits (I shouldn’t have to say it, but not the juice, and if you do drink juice have pulp), beans and lentils, and leafy greens. These are all things Americans don’t eat enough of for some reason.
Bean tacos are amazing. Black bean burgers are one of the few vegetarian alternatives that havr gained popularity among meat eaters, and for good reason. Have a spinach salad or snack on kale chips. It’s hard to find something more nutritious than lentils though they’re hard to cook in a particularly appetizing way. Cabbage and other brassicae can be a challenge but when cooked well is amazing. Whole grain bread takes some getting used to but is excellent once you do.
And if all else fails, pscilium husk fiber supplements.
The problem with fiber in the American diet is that it’s satiating and noticeable in ultra processed foods. It’s most appetizing in it’s natural sources, and the American diet really isn’t conducive to cooking with whole plant products.
Also! Try different types of lentils. Red/yellow lentils can get kind of paste-y unless dilluted into soup. But green lentils hold their shape and have a totally different mouthfeel.
Fruit smoothies are delicious and easy to make at home. A large bag of frozen fruits and some bananas at Costco costs like $10 and makes easily a dozen smoothies. The fruits keep in the freezer practically forever - just add blender, water/juice and maybe some milk.
Depending on what you put in it, one smoothie should get you most of the way to your fiber target.
There are brands of high-fiber bread whose taste is barely distinguishable from low-fiber bread. My current favorite is “Aunt Millie’s Live Carb Smart” but there are others.
SO fucking true. I feel like it’s actually impossible to even find foods with enough fiber in them in the first place. I might only get 5% of my daily fiber from a full meal, but at least my Snickers bar has 20g of protein in it for some reason.
We always somehow manage to focus on the wrong things.
Just eat peanuts
I eat a legume at pretty much every meal. Not all of them are high fiber foods, like peanuts or peanut butter, but most have some. Peas have 7g per serving. Peanuts have 2g per serving. Green beans have 3g. The actual beans start running away with it, though, with something like 15g of fiber per serving.
All those go a long way to hit 25g per day.
Basically legumes are how I get affordable protein, too, so it’s hitting multiple needs with a cheap and easy ingredient.
Fiber is too hard to explain.
My teen is an athlete and very much into muscle building. He tracks macros, eats more calories than the rest of us (and still lost weight as a freshman with unlimited meal plan), and always looks for more sources of lean protein or omega 3’s.
But when I try to explain the importance of fiber, “I don’t get constipated and don’t need to shit more so why should I care?” Maybe it’s my problem not knowing how to reply to that in a way that communicates the importance
For a body builder, fiber decreases insulin resistance and decreases inflammation . Food high in fiber have a low glycemic Index allowing for a continuous release of energy .
Oatmeal is one of the best carb sources for bodybuilding .
He should be eating piles of veggies to hit the micro’s needed for loosing fat and building muscle
Fiber feeds your gut bacteria, making your gut health better, making your overall health better. It helps to regulate and slightly inhibit absorption of carbs ensuring a longer lasting feeling of fullness. In nature, carbs and fiber always come packaged together in commensurate amounts… for example potatoes have about 20% carbs and a skin (the fiber) that is thin enough to be edible while sugar cane has so much carbs (about 70%) that the included fiber makes it like a stick.
He needs to understand that eating fiber is a workout for the gut. It makes the gut strong, so that it can absorb more nutrients from the meat he eats later. He may be shitting fine, in fact he may be shitting so well that he’s not absorbing the full nutrition from his food. Tell him not to be lazy, don’t skip gut day.
I like that, “don’t skip gut day”
deleted by creator
Whole grains, fruits (I shouldn’t have to say it, but not the juice, and if you do drink juice have pulp), beans and lentils, and leafy greens. These are all things Americans don’t eat enough of for some reason.
Bean tacos are amazing. Black bean burgers are one of the few vegetarian alternatives that havr gained popularity among meat eaters, and for good reason. Have a spinach salad or snack on kale chips. It’s hard to find something more nutritious than lentils though they’re hard to cook in a particularly appetizing way. Cabbage and other brassicae can be a challenge but when cooked well is amazing. Whole grain bread takes some getting used to but is excellent once you do.
And if all else fails, pscilium husk fiber supplements.
The problem with fiber in the American diet is that it’s satiating and noticeable in ultra processed foods. It’s most appetizing in it’s natural sources, and the American diet really isn’t conducive to cooking with whole plant products.
Lentils need carrots like everything else needs onions/salt, it makes a world of difference (but still use onions and salt)
Also! Try different types of lentils. Red/yellow lentils can get kind of paste-y unless dilluted into soup. But green lentils hold their shape and have a totally different mouthfeel.
Falafel…
Heavenly and a pain in the ass to make. If I had a home deep fryer though I’d be fat on falafel.
Yeah, I loved being able to get it for a few shekles in Palestine. It’s crazy cheap in materials
Yeah it’s next to potatoes in the “stupidly cheap, shockingly healthy, and ridiculously delicious” intersection.
Fruit smoothies are delicious and easy to make at home. A large bag of frozen fruits and some bananas at Costco costs like $10 and makes easily a dozen smoothies. The fruits keep in the freezer practically forever - just add blender, water/juice and maybe some milk.
Depending on what you put in it, one smoothie should get you most of the way to your fiber target.
Thankfully for myself, I love me some refried beans. I can get over the daily recommendation in one meal.
because fiber tastes like ass.
more fiberous versions of breads, flours, etc exist. but nobody likes how they taste.
just swap all the white flour in your life for whole wheat or whole grain bread and all the sudden you will quadruple your fiber intake
There are brands of high-fiber bread whose taste is barely distinguishable from low-fiber bread. My current favorite is “Aunt Millie’s Live Carb Smart” but there are others.