The roughage diet...

In the monthly newsletter for August sent by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) the feature was on fiber. Many of us know that fiber is good for us but most of us are simply not getting enough fiber in our diet. The most current guidelines for fiber intake are for men between 35-40 grams per day and for women between 25-30 grams per day. On average, Americans are only consuming 12-14 grams per day or only about half of the recommended amount. I'll speak more to how we can improve on that below.

One question that is frequently asked is what are the benefits of fiber. A quote from the newsletter states, "Fiber can relieve constipation and normalize your bowel movements. Some studies suggest that high-fiber diets might also help with weight loss and reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer." We have the studies (go to http://www.unicityscience.org/ for reprints)!

Dr. Gertraud Maskarinec of the University of Hawaii is quoted stating the following about how fiber can slow the absorption of sugar in the intestines, "With diabetes, it's good to keep glucose levels from peaking too much," She continues, "We found that it's mostly the fiber from grains that protects against diabetes."

Another benefit of fiber is weight management - here's another money quote, "Weight loss is another area where fiber might help. High-fiber foods generally make you feel fuller for longer. Fiber adds bulk but few calories. "In studies where people are put on different types of diets, those on the high-fiber diets typically eat about 10% fewer calories," says Slavin. Other large studies have found that people with high fiber intake tend to weigh less."

So what can you do to increase the amount of fiber in your diet. Here are a few suggestions:

• Add fruits, vegetables and nuts to your diet.



• Switch to whole grains; substitute wheat bread for white bread or whole wheat pasta for traditional pasta



• Slip in more beans - legumes are a good source of fiber and protein



• Lastly - add Slim to your diet. Each serving of Slim contains 4 g of dietary fiber of which the majority is soluble fiber.

You can get all of benefits of fiber with Slim including improved blood sugar regulation, better portion control with your meals, regular bowel movements and normalized cholesterol levels. Get slim using Slim! Better yet - get slim using Slim and share Slim with a friend.