Fiber is the word\u00a0we hear everyday, a\u00a0word that was never once spoken aloud in my family until recently.\u00a0\u00a0Dietary fiber is considered one of the most important ways to\u00a0maintain good health.\u00a0Fiber discussions are everywhere and that leads to fiber guilt.\u00a0Now when friends get together, we’ ll\u00a0often check\u00a0the fiber content of the muffins before choosing one.\u00a0\u00a0 (We don’t always choose the one with the most fiber, but we feel obligated to\u00a0check.)<\/p>\n
The earliest mentions I remember of better living through fiber were worded in euphemisms and had to do with specific bodily functions.\u00a0 It was mostly older people in my family discussing their bodies as a\u00a0form of social interaction.\u00a0\u00a0 We knew that Gramma’s second husband needed more bulk in his diet.\u00a0 She told us so in great detail. I’m still not all that comfortable with such in-depth knowledge of other people’s bathroom habits, but it’s too late now.\u00a0 The conversation is\u00a0multi-generational and\u00a0public.<\/p>\n
Fiber crossed over into general chat territory when it began to be marketed as a way to lose weight.\u00a0Overnight, fiber was\u00a0a food celebrity.\u00a0\u00a0Hello fiber, goodbye fat.\u00a0 In case you missed it, evidently the world runs on fiber.\u00a0 They’d been trying to teach us this for years (food pyramid, etc.) but when the sermons switched to how certain kinds of fiber whoosh the fat right out of our bodies, we paid attention.<\/p>\n
I saw a show on PBS called “Brenda Watson’s Fiber 35” about how you can change\u00a0your world by eating that many grams of fiber a day.\u00a0 It seems a bit ambitious for me.\u00a0 I counted up and I’m lucky to get 20 grams a day right now.\u00a0 It looks like I’d have to quit working in order to achieve 35.\u00a0 But it is getting easier, what with fiber-added everything.<\/p>\n
I’m conducting my own very skewed research.\u00a0 I’m eating only fiber-added foods that taste good.\u00a0 The nutrition\/snack bar selection is huge, but I’ve found only one brand so far that tastes like real food.\u00a0 I’m enjoying the new sugar-free, low-calorie fudgsicles with fiber added.\u00a0 There’s a creamy yogurt with several grams of fiber and, of course, a mountain of bread loaves.\u00a0 I’m trying them all.\u00a0 (A bread lover doesn’t have any trouble eating bread.)\u00a0 So far the ones with “double fiber added” are still best used only for toast.<\/p>\n
Kashi and Fiber One are the two brands that consistently taste good (all their products I’ve tried so far)\u00a0and have heaps of fiber.<\/p>\n
Like most of us, I’ve\u00a0developed the label-reading habit.I know, for instance, that when\u00a0I bring home a bag of Cheetos, it’s not going to bulk me up in the good way.\u00a0 I still\u00a0eat Cheetos, but now I’m free to enjoy them with absolutely no expectations.<\/p>\n