A few years ago, when adding fiber to packaged foods apparently was a way to get them added to customers’ shopping carts, I had an incident I will forever remember as The Day I Needed To Find a New Yoga Studio. It started off with fiber-added muffin mix that I doctored up with naturally fiber-rich canned pumpkin (because I love pumpkin muffins) and a cup of coffee.
I’d rather not go into the horror of what happened when I attempted inversions after this fiber-packed morning, but let’s just say everyone in the class caught wind of my breakfast, multiple times. I have avoided anything processed with extra fiber since then (still eat plenty of veggies and legumes), but I have concerns that I am not getting enough. Fortunately, my favorite TV doc came to the rescue (as usual) this week with his useful guide to getting the right amount—and right kind–of fiber.
Here are a few takeaways from that episode:
- First of all, the doc said too much fiber at one time can cause painful GI issues. Um, ya think??
- You’ll want to shoot for 30 grams of fiber in a day. Not too hard to hit that number if you have, say, Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain hot cereal with fruit and for breakfast, and then the rest of your day is all about salad, salad, salad…
- The kind of fiber you eat matters! Half should be soluble (think asparagus, grapefruit) and half should be insoluble (beans, raspberries).
- As I suspected, the doctor is NOT a fan of those added-fiber products like my infamous pancakes. Better to go with old-fashioned oatmeal and fruit than anything in a shiny wrapper, my friends!
Do you have any fiber-related faux pas? Tweet me @anitasjourney or comment below!