Christine Bude wrote that it’s simple to increase fiber in the diet. What if unable to afford expensive processed foods that have been fiber fortified such as General Mills’ Fiber One? If a person can’t or won’t eat a cup and a half of beans a day then what other natural unprocessed foods are high in fiber? Anthropologist Dian Fossey never mentioned that the huge distended abdomens of vegetarian Silverbacks go flat if they don’t eat for a couple of days.
The USDA dietary recommendation are “25 grams for women and 38 grams for men.” This seems nearly impossible without resorting to buying expensive fiber fortified foods such as Fiber One. The British minimum fiber guidelines is 12 to 24 grams a day, half of USDA recommendations.
The USDA guidelines are assuming a very active lifestyle in order to be under the daily caloric limit while maintaining high fiber. It has been postulated that the real reason for lowered health risk associated with a high fiber diet is because those people generally eating a high fiber diet are very active in order to maintain a healthy BMI.
It is possible to get 20 to 38 grams of fiber if diet is based on 2,000 to 2, 5000 calories a day. If your daily limit for calories is less than 1,500 calories a day then half of USDA recommendations for fiber should also be halved. It is not possible to have 1200 calories a day and 38 grams of fiber at the same time. According to the U.S. Census 2008 Statistical Abstract, Americans in 2004 consumed 3,900 calories a day that included 25 grams of fiber.
In order to get the the 23 grams of dietary fiber it would take the following amounts of food, either eight apples, or four cups of oat bran, or six cups of corn. Perhaps the corn cobs should be gnawed on instead or chew on bamboo like Zhen Zhen at the San Diego Zoo. It doesn’t sounds very appealing yet fibers from bamboo are already being added to yogurts.
Corn bran is added to the cereal Fiber One. Why is corn bran the highest in fiber yet cornmeal is not? The reason is cornmeal, polenta, grits, hominy, or masa harina, all are degerminated, the bran or husk removed. In order to get the whole grain cornmeal , a consumer would have to buy a specialty cornmeal that doesn’t say ‘degerminated’ somewhere on the package.
There are different kinds of fiber, soluble and insoluble are the two most generally known. Insoluble fiber speeds up the travel through the digestive tract and soluble fiber slows travel through the gut. A comparison of two of the highest fiber foods, corn bran and psyllium is that corn bran is insoluble fiber or roughage and psyllium husk is soluble fiber. Chicory root extract is added to Lucerne’s Light Smoothie to increase fiber. FIBERrific is the brand name of partially hydrolyzed inulin extracted from chicory root and synthetic dietary fiber from rice starch has been developed in Japan.
There are different ways to estimate how many calories a day to maintain weight, at shapefit, the formula is 15 to 16 calories per lb. of body weight. Activity level nor lean body mass are considered, resulting in an overestimation for the obese.
The website bmi-calculator has an online calculator for the Basal Metabolic Rate, (BMR), which is the amount of calories a person needs if laid flat in bed without getting up. The Harris Benedict Equation at bmi-calculator considers activity level but not lean body mass. Lastly, healthstatus has a lean body mass estimator that is accurate for most people.
The way I lost 35 pounds was using sparkpeople.Weighing and measuring are automatically computed. Calories expended are shown when logging in exercises. Standing up or sitting down are considered exercises by sparkpeople under fishing and is the place I recommend because it worked for me.
Sources:
Christine Bude, “Simple Ways to Increase Fiber in the Diet” Associated Content
Tom Servo, “How to Lose Weight and Improve Your Health by Eating a Whole Foods Diet” Associated Content
Molly Carter, “Weight Watchers: A Plan that Works” Associated Content
Clemson Extension, “Reading the New Food Labels” Home and Garden Information Center
Tina Samuels, “What is the BMI (Body Mass Index)?” Associated Content
census, “Nutrition-Nutrients in Foods Available for Civilian Consumption Per Capita Per Day: 1970 to 2004 ” U.S. Census Bureau
travels, “Different Kinds of Fiber and Related News”Associated Content
Christine Bude, “Intestinal Gas, Flatulence and “The Vapors” Associated Content
ptosis, “What Everyone Should Know About the Trans-Free Label on Foods” Associated Content
Steven Tyler, “What Really Happens to the Cheeseburger You Just Ate?” Associated Content
shapefit, “Basal Metabolic Rate – BMR”, Shape Fit
bmi-calculator, “BMI Calculator – Calculate your Body Mass Index” BMI-Calculator
healthstatus, “Lean Body Mass Estimator” Health Status
scientificpsychic, “Diet Calculator, Body Fat Calculator” Scientific Psychic
sparkpeople, “Why does the Fitness Tracker not calculate calories burned through strength training?” Spark People
