By now we've all seen those stupid ads on TV that tout idiotic statements like "I dropped my cholesterol level by 6 points from eating oatmeal!" like 6 points is a big deal or something! The truth is cholesterol levels within blood is just a transient number that fluctuates from day to day. So let's say you had your blood drawn and 30 minutes later you had it drawn again; did you know that it is unlikely that the numbers would be the same? That's right, cholesterol levels vary by many points from one moment to the next. Fluctuations are the norm, staying the same is very unlikely. Human blood chemistry is in a constant state of flux. Therefore to suggest that oatmeal drops your cholesterol level by a mere six points would be like me telling you how many hairs are on your head before you shampoo verses after. It's virtually meaningless. Major swings up and down are what you need to pay attention to. 

I'm not saying oatmeal is bad, in fact it's good and good for you. What I'm saying is that the original studies were very deceptive in regards to how effective oatmeal is in reducing cholesterol levels. There is a huge amount of manipulation of the facts through studies to market and sell foods. Don't believe me? Okay, let's consider this example in regards to oatmeal. In a study done on studies, it was discovered that if the study was sponsored by a manufacturer, now the manufacturer has a vested interest and is able to manipulate the data in favor to promote their product.   So, do you realize that by sponsoring their own study, they are able to sell a product rather than to expand society's knowledge?  This is the very information that we use to rely on to determine the best products for health and wellness. Kind of sad!  

When Quaker Oatmeal sponsored its own study to show that oatmeal (or oat bran) had a major decreased effect on cholesterol levels they used that information in all their advertising. The original researchers became so outraged by the distorted advertising and misleading information that a lawsuit was brought against Quaker. You see, what Quaker did was extrapolate one positive piece of information about oatmeal only to leave out the most critical information. Quaker used one paragraph that showed that when subjects ate oat bran muffins their cholesterol levels dropped by X number of points. However, important information from the next paragraph was left out and that stirred up a hornets nest. Here's what the study found; when participants were fed X number of oat bran muffins and it was factored against how gassy and bloated they became and coupled with a reduction in high cholesterol foods, they saw no discernable decrease in cholesterol levels. Hmmm, consider this tidbit on the effects of the study. When the lawsuit was filed, Quaker simply hired other scientist to repeat the study and the lawsuit was thrown out. Now, let me ask you this; if a company pays a scientist to conduct the study, do you think it could have any effect on the outcome? Absolutely!  

"Oat Bran can Reduce Your Cholesterol Level"

It was billed as a dietary cure-all during the late 1980's, and everybody jumped on the oat bran bandwagon. Cookies, muffins, waffles, cereals, and even pretzels labeled "made with oat bran" across their labels joined this bandwagon.  Within a few months after the media hailed oat bran as the latest cure for elevated cholesterol, the supermarket shelves were covered with Kellogg's "Cracklin Oat Bran," "Post Oat Flakes," "Common Sense Oat Bran" and at least a dozen other new cereals.  By 1989, sales of oat bran cereals rose to a staggering $247 million, up by 240% from the previous year.  Then, came the books...

The Eight-Week Cholesterol Cure told the account of how eating three oat bran muffins a day, in combination with a low fat diet and some niacin, would save your life.  What you didn't hear was that many fibers reduce cholesterol levels, not just oat bran.  Fiber has the ability to absorb cholesterol within the  intestinal  tract  and  carry  it  out  of  your  system  unabsorbed.  The problem wasn't the fiber; the problem was that many of the products that advertised "contains oat bran" didn't contain significant enough amounts of oat bran. In fact, many ingredients listings contained mainly white flour with oat bran being listed near the bottom of the ingredients.  Imagine eating three Otis Spunkmeyer oat bran muffins a day to reduce your risk of heart disease and finding out later that each muffin contained 364 calories and 13.5 g of fat.  That's a whopping 33% fat!   Also, what does the 737 mg. of sodium, within each muffin, do to your blood pressure?

Insoluble fiber is the type that does not dissolve in water and tends to pass through your system quickly and unchanged.  The primary function of insoluble fiber is to move bulk through the intestines, help promote regular bowel movements, and prevents constipation and hemorrhoids.  It also has the ability to help prevent colon cancer by keeping the pH in the intestines at an optimal level which then prevents microbes from producing cancerous substances.  It can be found naturally in whole wheat, wheat bran, corn bran, fruit skins and vegetable skins, seeds, nuts and many vegetables.  Fiber binds with carcinogens, cholesterol, fats and carry's them out the poop shoot.

Soluble fiber, on the other hand, dissolves in water and forms a thick gel-like mass.  This type of fiber can be beneficial for constipation as well, but tends to move slower through the intestinal tract.  Soluble fiber has been proven to be beneficial in reducing bad cholesterol by binding to fatty acids.  It also helps regulate blood glucose levels by prolonging the stomach emptying time of food so that sugars are released and absorbed slower into the bloodstream. Fiber binds with just about everything. The fact that it helps stabilize blood sugars makes it an excellent addition to a diabetic diet.  Simply taking some guar gum with a meal has actually been shown to dramatically reduce the usual blood sugar spike associated with food in diabetics.  Natural sources of soluble fiber are oatmeal, oat bran, dried beans, peas, nuts, barley, flax seed, citrus fruits, apples and carrots. There are fiber supplements that can really help you reach your required amount of fiber. Pysllium husk or powder, like Metamucil or sugar free Citrucel, are great additions to almost anyone's diet. 

Of course there are benefits to eating fiber and the obvious foods that contain them.  The question is do you know what serious conditions are effected by a diet rich in fiber?   Aside from preventing constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulosis and diverticulitis, fiber has also been linked to preventing certain cancers such as colon cancer and breast cancer.  Soluble fiber in particular has been shown to lower the LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol).  This, in turn, leads to a reduced risk of heart disease, lowers blood sugar levels, and helps with managing diabetes.  Finally, a recent study found that a high fiber diet lowers the risk of having elevated C-reactive protein which is a blood marker for future heart disease and diabetes.  By all accounts fiber is an extremely beneficial part of a healthy diet.  So why then is it so difficult for people to reach the recommended intake of 35grams per day? Well for starters food manufacturers really don't add as much fiber into foods as they could and frankly with all those benefits, I just don't understand why they choose not to.

How you know the benefits of consuming a high fiber diet but what exactly does "high" mean?  The recommended amount for men 50 and younger is 35 grams a day. For women 50 and younger the goal is 25 grams a day.  If you are over 50 and a man you should shoot for 30 grams a day and a woman over 50 should aim for 21 grams a day.  These numbers are based on the government standards, but if you know us, we rarely listen to them. Afterall, they have designed tons of deceptive labels and support the food companies. The real goal for everyone is to try to ingest about 35 grams of fiber per day, regardless of age.

Seems simple enough until you start adding up fiber in foods claiming "high fiber", right?  For instance, bread is a staple in most people's diet and is the first place people assume they can get the most fiber.  I got really upset the other day while shopping at Randall's because I was hard pressed to find bread that contained 4 grams of fiber, most only contained 2-3 grams. Yet, when I by "Bran for Life" bread at Whole foods, I get a whopping 5 grams of fiber per slice. There wasn't a single loaf at Randall's that contained 5 grams per slice and only a few brands had 4 grams. Bread is shockingly low in fiber even if it is labeled in a way that sounds high in fiber.  Check this out:

Sara Lee Premium Heart Healthy 100% Whole Wheat Classic = 2 grams of fiber

Wheat Roll at Jersey Mike's Subs = 2 grams of fiber

Orowheat 12 Grain Bread had a measly 1 gram of fiber!

I don't know about you, but when I hear "12 Grain Bread" I'm thinking there's a ton of fiber in there.  Consider this; it would take 35 slices of that bread to reach your daily recommended amount of fiber!  And bread is an easy place to add fiber.  However bread manufacturers are choosing deceptive labeling tactics to sell you low fiber products wrapped up in a high fiber label.  I'm just wondering if you would get more fiber by eating the packaging than from the bread! So when shopping for bread be sure to read the label and try to buy breads that have 4 grams of fiber per slice or more.

Here's another big deception. Did you know that the law states that if a bread does not state "100% whole wheat bread" than by law it is white bread dyed brown with caramel coloring? So be sure to look for the words "100% whole grain" as the first ingredient or you are just getting some version of refined flour with some caramel coloring added to make it brown and appear whole wheat. Watch out for sneaky jargon like "multi-grain", "stone ground", "100% wheat", "cracked wheat", "seven grain", or "bran" because these may not be whole grain.  Don't be fooled by the word "enriched" either because after processing the grain is stripped it of its vitamins and minerals then are added back into the bread to replace what was lost in refining.  Enriched does not mean "fiber added" either and the fiber is definitely removed in the refining process.

So, how can you easily increase the fiber in your diet and reach the required levels?  First of all, beans and whole grains (ie. lentils) are an excellent source of dietary fiber.  One cup of kidney beans has an amazing 13.1 grams of fiber.  That is 13 times the amount in most bread!  You could also choose to include high fiber cereals such as Fiber One (14 grams in ½ cup), All Bran with Extra Fiber (13 grams in ½ cup) or Kashi Go Lean (10 grams of fiber in 1 cup along with 13 grams of protein).  You can eat them alone or toss them in meatloaf or a yogurt for crunch.

Some other ideas would be to simply toss cooked beans or whole grains into your salad, turkey chili, or you can serve them as a side item with a lean meat and fibrous vegetables.  These same high fiber cereals can also be used in our protein muffins and pancake recipes instead of oatmeal. This simple change can boost the fiber content from 4 grams to 13 grams per serving.  So, one serving of beans or fiber cereal can really bump up your daily fiber intake, as would a sandwich made with 2 slices of "Bran for Life" bread.  Of course, adding in fruits and vegetables at your meals would also boost your fiber intake.   Tip:  know the label laws so you can make informed choices and decisions.  To be labeled a good "source of fiber" a food must contain at least 2 grams (which really isn't much).  A "high source" must contain at least 4 grams and a "very high source" must have at least 6 grams of fiber.

Is there any health risks associated with eating too much fiber? Well, yeah, sort of. If you are used to a low fiber diet and suddenly bump it up too high you may experience extreme gas, bloating, cramping and noxious fumes that can clear a room and even make your dog whimper in protest. We refer that experience as "colon blow." Add fiber in slowly over the course of a few weeks.  That allows the natural bacteria to adjust and change over the time so it can handle the fermenting process more efficiently.  You might also want to consider adding in some digestive enzymes at your meals to help aid in the adjustment.  Also, remember that you should absolutely drink a lot of water or the added fiber can actually constipate you instead of helping to relieve constipation.

A final word of caution:  fiber binds with almost all medications and can stop, reduce or lower their absorption. Therefore you have to take medication with a meal or on an empty stomach and never along with a fiber supplement or high fiber food unless otherwise directed. And it's not just medications that fiber binds with; it also blocks the absorption of many vitamins and minerals. So take them separately just to be safe. That means take medications and supplements along with meals or, if directed, take the medication on an empty stomach; meaning an hour before or after you eat.