Question And Answer Session

I got a good question this week.  I wasn’t able to respond directly to the person as I had hoped so I thought I would share the answer here.  There are probably others with the same question.

How much fiber are you suppose to have in a day?  Is there such thing as too much fiber?

I did some research on the internet and here is what I have found.

Here is a quote from the American Heart Association.  “Dietary fiber intake among adults in the United States averages about 15 grams. The Institute of Medicine recommends consuming 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you need. That means a person who eats 2,500 calories each day should get at least 35 grams of fiber daily, while a person who eats 1,700 calories each day needs somewhat less fiber—about 24 grams. A toddler who eats only 1,300 calories each day needs about 18 grams of fiber.”

The AHA also states:

“When eaten regularly as part of a diet low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, soluble fiber has been associated with increased diet quality and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Soluble or viscous fibers modestly reduce LDL cholesterol beyond levels achieved by a diet low in saturated and trans fatty acids and cholesterol alone. Oats have the highest proportion of soluble fiber of any grain. Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp.

Insoluble fiber has been associated with decreased cardiovascular risk and slower progression of cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals. Dietary fiber may promote satiety by slowing gastric emptying, leading to an overall decrease in calorie intake. Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole-wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, rye, rice, barley, most other grains, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin.”

I found this information on a site talking about high fiber diets and the risks of a high fiber diet.

“Including fiber in one's daily diet has definite benefits. However, although very uncommon, fiber has the potential to cause harm if taken in excess of 60 or 70 grams daily. "Since fiber carries water out of the body, taking too much can cause dehydration and intestinal discomfort or gas," (Boyle, p. 84). Large amounts of fiber require a high fluid intake. Therefore, as one increases fiber in the diet, water intake must also be increased. If one does not consume enough fluid, then one's stool could become very hard, resulting in difficult and painful elimination.

Fiber speeds the movement of foods through the digestive system. Since iron is mainly absorbed early during digestion, high amounts of fiber may limit the opportunity for the absorption of iron, calcium , and other nutrients. Finally, large amounts of fiber can also cause deficiencies of nutrients and energy by causing one to feel full before enough nutrients have been consumed. Children and elderly persons are especially vulnerable to these concerns, since they eat smaller portion sizes.

In conclusion, fiber is an important element of the diet and provides several health benefits. Eating balanced meals containing whole grain and fresh fruits and vegetables will ensure meeting the proper recommended allowances. “

 

I found many websites that stressed if you are increasing your fiber intake in your diet you also need to increase your water intake.

You also need to remember for the weight watchers diet that the fiber has a limit to the benefits of getting your points down.   You should NEVER include more than 10 grams of fiber per serving when determining the number of points for that serving – even if the fiber content per serving is more than 10 grams.  Some will even argue and say that you should  not include more than 4 grams of fiber per serving.  Click here to read the post I already wrote discussing that topic.

I hope that answers your question. 

Here is one more question that I have gotten a couple of times and thought I would address on here in case there is anyone else with the same question.

What is the best way to leave my weight on the blog?

There are a couple of ways you can do this.  You can just simply send me an email when you do your weight in.  Or, if you are subscribing to the blog by email you can just reply to the email that contains the weekly weigh-in post with your information.  You can also leave a comment on the weigh in post on the blog.   I noticed today that the blog was set up to not accept anonymous comments but that has been changed so you can leave an anonymous comment on the weigh-in post if you would like to do it that way. 

Any time that I post weigh-in tallies that have been reported for the week I will not include names so that everyone feels comfortable.   Like I have said several times people get motivated when they hear of the success of other people (which is why this blog even got started, am I right?!?!).

Even so there are some that are just not comfortable at all with sharing their weight with anyone and that is ok too.  Providing your weekly weigh in information is not a requirement to be involved with this blog!  Everything on this blog is strictly voluntary!

As always, send me your questions and I will do my best to try to find answers for you.l

How I Use Weight Watcher Points (regarding fiber cap)

Let me start out by saying that I follow the Weight Watchers points program but I am not an official member of the Weight Watchers system.  I have never joined the weight watchers program.  I do not pay dues and I do not attend meetings. 

So information that I share on this blog is from research I have done on the internet mostly, with information I have gained from other friends who have been members of the weight watchers program.  There may be times when what I am doing is not exactly how it should be in the program, but it has worked for me, which is what counts (I have lost 35 pounds in the past 4 months and I am still going).

In my research I have found a lot of information on how the program uses fiber in the point count.  From what I have read there is an old way and a new way on the fiber count.  Originally weight watchers let you calculate up to 10 grams of fiber per serving when calculating the points, but, apparently a large portion of the weight watchers population didn’t realize that there is a limit to how many calories can be wiped out by fiber and started abusing the system by thinking they could eat lots of calories as long as they ate lots of fiber, but they were not losing weight.  So weight watchers decided to modify the point system and only allow 4 grams of fiber to be included in the points count per serving.

I have been following the 10 gram fiber cap and have not had a problem with it…but I only count fiber if the recipe, or the food item contains that much fiber.  I do not add extra fiber to my recipes to lower the point count.  

So in all my recipes on this blog, along with Kellie’s Healthy Recipes, I calculate points according to the 10 gram fiber cap (and frankly it is not that often that there is a recipe that c0ntains that much fiber).   But if you are wanting to use the 4 gram fiber cap I do strive to provide the calories, fat and fiber content per serving so you can recalculate the points if the fiber count is above 4 grams.