Here’s a word I hear every day that was never once spoken aloud during my growing up years.\u00a0 Fiber.\u00a0\u00a0Today\u00a0dietary fiber is considered one of the most important aspects of health maintenance and fiber discussions\u00a0are\u00a0everywhere.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The earliest mentions I can recall of better living through fiber\u00a0had to do with bodily functions, and while older people\u00a0tend to discuss their bodies as a form of social interaction and even recreation, I’m still not all that comfortable with such in-depth knowledge of other people’s habits.<\/p>\n
All of us were aware\u00a0that Gramma K’s second husband suffered from irregularity.\u00a0 She announced it frequently, dismayed that\u00a0he wouldn’t follow her advice, which was “You need more bulk.”\u00a0\u00a0Bulk was the euphemism for all we knew of fiber in food, and bulky foods looked unappetizing compared to the delicious fiber-free meals we generally had on our table.\u00a0 You couldn’t blame Gramma’s husband for resisting.<\/p>\n
Then fiber began to be marketed as a way to lose weight and everyone noticed.\u00a0 Hello fiber.\u00a0 Goodbye fat.\u00a0 In case you missed it, evidently the world runs best on fiber.\u00a0 They’ve\u00a0been trying to teach us this for years, but when they began preaching about how certain kinds of fiber sort of whoosh the fat right out of our bodies, America started listening.<\/p>\n
I saw a\u00a0show on\u00a0PBS called “Brenda Watson’s Fiber 35” \u00a0about how you can rock your world by eating that many grams of fiber a day.\u00a0 It seems\u00a0a bit ambitious for me.\u00a0 I’m lucky to get 20 grams a day and right now it looks like I’d have to quit work in order to achieve 35.\u00a0 But it is getting easier.<\/p>\n
I’m conducting my own very skewed, very personal research.\u00a0 In case you’re wondering how this revolution tastes, I’m only eating fiber-added foods that taste good.\u00a0\u00a0The\u00a0nutrition\/snack bar selection is huge, but I’ve\u00a0found only one brand so far\u00a0that tastes like real food.\u00a0\u00a0I love these new sugar-free, low-calorie fudgsicles with fiber added.\u00a0\u00a0There’s a\u00a0creamy yogurt with several grams of fiber and, of course, a mountain of bread loaves.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I’m trying them\u00a0all.\u00a0\u00a0(A bread lover doesn’t have any trouble eating bread.)\u00a0 So far the ones with “double fiber added” are still best used for toast.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
One habit I’ve developed\u00a0is label-reading.\u00a0 I know\u00a0that when I bring home a\u00a0bag of\u00a0Cheetos, it’s not going to bulk me up in the good way.\u00a0 I still eat Cheetos, but now I’m free to enjoy them with absolutely no expectations.<\/p>\n