Fiber Protocol

You MUST work to get adequate Fiber in your diet. IMO shoot for 50 grams

“It is difficult to overstate the benefits garnered from fiber in regard to blood glucose control.” Life Extension

“Researchers followed 11,897 men and women. They found that those in the highest 20% of total fiber intake from food had superior lung function. Those with mostly soluble fruit fiber saw their risk of COPD drop by 38%.” Robert Jay Rowen, MD

“According to a Harvard study men who ate 25 or more grams of fiber had 33% fewer heart attacks than men eating 12 grams. Increasing daily fiber by 10 grams as in one half grapefruit lowers heart attack risk by 20%.” Doctor Eric Rimm

“In a study women eating 25 grams of fiber a day were 25% less likely to develop HBP as women eating 10 grams.” Harvard

“A group of diabetic men put on a high fiber diet saw their HBP drop by 10%.” Doctor James Anderson, University of Kentucky

“Studies confirmed the value of a high fiber diet (25 grams soluble, 25 grams insoluble) in improving glycemic control and reducing hyperinsulinemia and plasma lipid levels in patients with type II diabetes.” Chandalia et al, Note 50 grams is an achievable worthwhile goal

“Varicose veins are rarely seen in the parts of the world where a high fiber unprocessed diet is eaten.” Trowell et al

“In a comparison of food consumption and diabetes from 1909 to 1997 only the increase in HFCS and a decrease in fiber intake correlated positively with the rise in type 2 diabetes.” Gross et al, Note these two factors are easily obviated

“Should You Take Fiber Supplements? The average American diet is low in fiber (5-15 grams). For optimal anti-aging purposes, 25-30 grams of fiber is needed. This can be achieved by taking in half a cup of bran, one cup of legume, 2 cups of vegetables, 3 fruits, whole grain bread and cereal on a daily basis. If you are not, consider fiber supplementation together with digestive enzymes and higher intake of water to enhance gastrointestinal health. All fiber supplements are best taken one hour before a meal so as not to interfere with absorption of nutrients. If you are currently on soluble fiber for cholesterol control, there is no reason to stop, for the simple reason that soluble fiber lowers cholesterol. If your primary objective is to prevent colon cancer, then it is wise in view of the last 3 major studies to take additional vegetables and whole grain products such as wheat bran, which will provide you with insoluble fiber, instead of taking fiber supplements such as Psyllium as a way to prevent cancer.” Doctor Michael Lam MD

"In a study Fifty-five percent of participants decreased their sugar intake equal to the sugar in one can of soda and 59 percent increased their fiber intake by an average of 5 grams per day, or one-half cup of beans across all intervention groups, including controls. Conclusion: participants who decreased their sugar intake had an average 33 percent decrease in insulin secretion and those who increased their fiber intake had an average 10 percent reduction in visceral adipose tissue volume." Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Note WOW one can of pop less equals 33% less insulin, outstanding!

"If you do not eat meat or if you are trying to increase your fiber intake, if you are under stress or are an athlete it may not be possible to get the needed zinc through your diet." Doctor Anthony Cichoke, Note high fiber diets may require zinc supplementation as the fiber may absorb the zinc

"Soluble fiber increases the production of the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-4. Soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells—they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection." Gregory Freund PhD Medicine Soluble fiber improves immune function

"A study of 44,000 men ages 40 to 75 found that men who added 10 grams of fiber a day to their diet decreased their risk of heart disease by almost 30 percent." Prevention

Fiber is Undigested Plant Food

Fiber is the part of the food you ingest which your body does not digest. There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Fiber is found in UNPROCESSED plant foods. The processing often REMOVES the fiber. Fiber is everywhere; don’t cook your food and you will get LOTS more. Cooking will turn some fiber into food. This is sometimes good as with carrots (See Carrot Protocol) but cook too often and at too high a heat and you will lose lots of fiber. Try to get lots of both soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet.

IMO YOU MUST Get Inventive

One simple way to get more fiber is to simply NOT cut off parts of the plants you eat and eat them RAW. Yes if there is rot cut it off. But most cores and skin can and should be eaten. Eating raw will give you LOTS more fiber. Always eat seeds; chew them well; some will NOT digest; good. Ever try to eat a banana skin.? Start with a square inch or so. Try it! Your GI tract LOVES banana skins. Just ask!

Watch a bear eat "berries". The bear eats the whole plant, leaves, stems, roots and earth! Try it! I eat the leaves of most wild berries. We know in the case of blueberries there is MUCH nutrition in the leaves. A few leaves are poisonous, only eat small amounts of these. LOL!

I can vouch for the edible properties of pine needles, maple, birch, willow, aspen, and MANY other tree leaves.

High Fiber diet Advantages

More chewing is required
More digestive fluids are produced
Digestion is improved
Digestion is slowed as is nutrient release
Assimilation of many nutrients is improved
Removal of toxins is improved
Meal time is lengthened
Insulin sensitivity is improved
Meals are more satisfying physically and emotionally
Post meal hunger is delayed
High fiber food is often more nutritious
Blood sugar levels are modulated and improved
Diabetes risk is lowered
Diabetes is helped
HBP is improved
Lung function is improved
Cardiovascular health is improved
Varicose Veins may be avoided
Many Others

Fiber is Vital for Good Health

"When there is a lot of fiber in your diet, stools are large, soft and easy to pass. take away the fiber and the stools get small and hard. This makes it harder for the intestine to move them along. The straining colon can stretch out of shape causing small diverticulitis pouches." Prevention

"In the 1960s researchers started to notice that in the US and other industrialized countries serious conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer seemed to be on the rise. But in parts of the world where people still got a lot of fiber these conditions seemed much less common." Prevention

"Insoluble fiber binds to estrogen in the GI tract leaving much less estrogen in circulation. Women who ate 28 grams of fiber a day had a 38% lower risk of breast cancer than women who ate 14 grams." Prevention, Note this is going to help us men also

"Men who added 10 grams of fiber a day to their diet were able to decrease their risk of heart disease by 30%." Prevention

"The reason so many Americans have hemorrhoids is that the average fiber consumption in this country is 12 grams a day." Prevention

Fiber is vital for good health. For example we worry about too much cholesterol but without fiber your colon will reabsorb up to 95% of the cholesterol in your stool. This can be a very good thing. Your body thinks when you have no fiber in your stool you may be starving and conserves valuable things like cholesterol. However a diet of only say meat and cheese, which have NO fiber and lots of cholesterol, will produce a vicious cycle. If you eat meat, cheese AND lots of fiber your body will get rid of the excess cholesterol. Always buy the UNHULLED version of your seeds (See Nut and Seed Protocol), the hull is often fiber. For every large meal you eat always try to have a good portion of fiber in your stomach along with the food. Fiber will help you lose weight as it adds to the feeling of fullness that helps turn off your appetite.

Fiber and Digestion

"High fiber diets are the secret to keeping your colon healthy." Doctor Marvin Schuster MD, Johns Hopkins

Fiber slows the release of glucose into your blood stream. For example if you eat refined grains WITHOUT the fiber your glucose levels will rise rapidly. However WHOLE grains (See Grain Protocol) with the fiber will slow the rate of glucose release into your blood and lower your risk of Type 2 diabetes. Fiber also slows the release of many other nutrients that nourish best if released into your blood slowly, vitamin C (See Vitamin C Protocol) for one. Cooked carrots are a must for me but I realize cooked carrots rate high on the Glycemic index (See Glycemic Index Protocol). Thus I add some soluble fiber to my large bowl of cooked carrots to slow the release of glucose from the carrots. Adding additional fiber to all the healthy root vegetables, which tend to be high on the GI, and any other healthy food high on the GI will help make a healthy food healthier.

Fiber Obviates MANY Health Problems

“It is difficult to overstate the benefits garnered from fiber in regard to blood glucose control.” Life Extension

“Varicose veins are rarely seen in the parts of the world where a high fiber unprocessed diet is eaten.” Trowell et al

“In a study women eating 25 grams of fiber a day were 25% less likely to develop HBP as women eating 10 grams.” Harvard

“A group of diabetic men put on a high fiber diet saw their HBP drop by 10%.” Doctor James Anderson, University of Kentucky

Another example, we worry about colon cancer but societies that consume lots of fiber almost NEVER experience colon cancer. Why? The insoluble fiber sweeps the colon clean of incipient polyps. I eat lots of fiber, don’t worry about colon cancer and will never have a tube shoved, punctured colons can result, where the sun don’t shine.

Societies that consume lots of fiber almost NEVER experience varicose veins. Straining when defecating is a major cause of varicose veins. Fiber and water are the simple cures.

There are hundreds of examples like this. Your body was designed to work with fiber and CANNOT function well without it.

Fiber is everywhere, Please look for it

An excellent source of fiber is an apple (see Apple Protocol). An apple contains both soluble and insoluble fiber and if you eat the ENTIRE apple, especially the skin, core and chewed seeds you will get a nicer portion of fiber. Eating the WHOLE fruit or vegetable, seeds, core, skin and all will give you a more generous portion of fiber than if you do not eat the normally discarded portion which often contain fiber and other beneficial nutrition. Hey this is what old Griz does and take a look at his scat!

Fiber is Required for Diabetics or to Avoid Diabetes

“Studies confirmed the value of a high fiber diet (25 grams soluble, 25 grams insoluble) in improving glycemic control and reducing hyperinsulinemia and plasma lipid levels in patients with type II diabetes.” Chandalia et al, Note 50 grams is an achievable worthwhile goal

If you are diabetic or prediabetic please try to eat at least 40 - 60 grams of fiber per day. If you are not diabetic or pre diabetic and do not wish to become so you may wish to do the same. This is often not easy even eating all raw uncooked food. I always keep a few supplemental (See Supplement Protocol) sources of fiber such flax seed or psyllium (See Psyllium Protocol) and throw them in for example a large salad. Well mixed you will not notice the supplemental fiber.

They often caution you to increase the amount of fiber in your diet slowly as if you double your intake for example in a few days gastric distress may result. I can attest to this sometimes I mistakenly throw thirty grams or so of fiber in a single high fiber meal. I don’t figure it out until AFTER the bloat hits. The bloat harmlessly though uncomfortably passes.

Take Care Mixing Supplements and Fiber

Since insoluble fiber can absorb oil avoid taking any oil or fat soluble supplements concurrently with insoluble fiber supplements or a fiber rich meal. This can be a little tricky but try to think about it a little.

Insoluble Fiber Foods

Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and tends to speed digestion

Apples
Beans and lentils
Berries (blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, cranberries)

Brussels sprouts
Broccoli

Cabbage

Cauliflower

Celery
Cherries
Cucumbers

Dates and prunes
Fresh herbs

Garlic

Grapes and raisins

Greens

Melons

Nuts

Onions

Oranges, grapefruits, lemons, limes
Peaches, nectarines, apricots, pears

Pineapple
Psyllium

Rhubarb
Seeds
Sprouts

Tomatoes

Vegetables

Whole Grains

Whole Wheat

Soluble Fiber Foods

“Soluble fibers appear to reduce blood cholesterol in two ways. First, they prevent the reabsorption of vital bile acids from the small intestine. To replace the lost bile acids, cholesterol is drawn from the body, thereby reducing its cholesterol supply. Second, the fermentation of soluble fibers in the intestine produces short-chain fatty acids which block the synthesis of cholesterol. Studies suggest that soluble fibers also may help control the rise in blood sugar following a meal and reduce insulin requirements in some patients with diabetes mellitus. By increasing the viscosity of gastrointestinal contents, soluble fibers retard gastric emptying, slowing the absorption of glucose in the process.” Doctor Michael Lam MD

"Soluble fiber increases the production of the anti-inflammatory protein interleukin-4. Soluble fiber changes the personality of immune cells—they go from being pro-inflammatory, angry cells to anti-inflammatory, healing cells that help us recover faster from infection." Gregory Freund PhD Medicine Soluble fiber improves immune function

"Studies show a diet high in soluble fiber causes the body to produce more insulin receptor sites. More insulin gets into the cell and is removed from the blood where it can cause problems." Prevention

"Because it forms a gummy gel in the intestine, soluble fiber helps prevent glucose from being absorbed into the blood too quickly. This in turn helps keep blood sugar levels from rising or dipping too quickly." Prevention

Soluble fiber dissolves in water and slows digestion time. Since they increase the bulk in your stomach they may help you eat less. A very important function of soluble fiber is eliminating cholesterol from your body. Unless you have fiber in your GI tract the cholesterol bound into fatty bile acids CANNOT be eliminated.

Apples

Avocados
Bananas

Barley

Beans

Beets
Carrots

Fruit
Lentils

Mangoes

Nuts

Oatmeal

Papayas

Parsnips

Quinoa

Psyllium
Rice

Rutabagas

Seeds

Sesame Seed
Squash and pumpkins
Sweet potatoes
Turnips

Vegetables
Yams