by Natasha Turner
It’s all about your fibre intake. In general, most adults tend to take in an average of only 16 grams per day, while optimal daily recommendations are closer to 30 to 35 grams.
There are two types of fibre—soluble and insoluble—and your body needs both for optimal health, digestion and elimination. Soluble fibre is fantastic for lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol, stabilizing blood sugars and reducing excess insulin. It keeps the bowels moving and can help prevent constipation. Good sources include fruits (especially apples, pears and oranges), vegetables (like broccoli, sweet potatoes, cabbage, potatoes and carrots), oat bran, barley, seed husks, flaxseed, psyllium, dried beans, lentils and peas. For a supplement, you can look to your health food store or try Clear Solufiber, as a tasteless option that mixes clear in water and I love it mixed with my collagen and clear recovery daily, or at bedtime with my protein powder if I need a fiber and protein intake top-up for the day to hit my 120 grams of protein and 30 grams of fiber. This also mixes well in any protein smoothie recipe.
Insoluble fibre helps to bulk up our stools, keep the bowels moving and speed up the transit time of food through the digestive tract. It’s an essential part of a nutrition program because fibre binds excess estrogen in the digestive tract and furthers its removal from the body. Insoluble fibre can also affect the composition of intestinal bacteria. Good sources include wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran, the skins of fruits and vegetables (apples, pears, berries, tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini and carrots), nuts (especially almonds), seeds (particularly sunflower seeds), soybeans, dried beans and whole-grain foods. Your best options here is Clear Fibre, and it’s fantastic added to smoothies for bowel regularity and maintaining the sensation of fullness.
No matter the source or the type of fibre, there are at least seven reasons my plan makes sure you don’t fall short on fibre:
1. It makes you feel full. This is exactly why you must have two cups of cooked veggies (in soups, in stir-fries, baked or steamed, or cooled and added to salads) twice daily. Salad greens, celery and cucumber do not count for fibre. You won’t believe the difference the added fibre-rich veggies make for appetite control and satiety. So many patients on this program call the cooked veggies a “game changer.”
2. Fibre boosts adiponectin, the hormone that burns fat, which your body releases when you exercise. Researchers have found that adding fibre to the diet increases adiponectin levels by as much as 115 percent. Fibre also stabilizes glucose levels and reduces the glycemic impact of meals (that’s the blood sugar spike after you eat), which improves insulin sensitivity.
3. It assists with the reduction of cholesterol, triglycerides and fatty liver disease. With the regular intake of fibre in a daily smoothie, combined with lipotropic factors that help break down fat (like choline and the other nutrients in Clear Lipotrim), you can significantly reduce the amount of abdominal fat when living a healthy lifestyle. This happens over time and with consistency in your diet.
4. For any women who has PMS, for menopausal women with excess body fat and for men with belly fat, fibre is essential. Every time you poop, you rid estrogen—and this is true for both men and women. If you have cellulite on the backs of your thighs or hips, which can also be related to extra toxic estrogen, fibre is your friend.
5. Fibre reduces blood insulin, the one and only hormone that tells your body to store fat—particularly around the belly, love handles, bra fat and upper-arm areas. If you are starving all the time, bloated, brain-fogged and craving carbs, you need to get your insulin in check. Fibre is one trick you can use to help.
6. Ensuring your body gets enough fibre each day is very important for bacterial balance and promoting bowel regularity.
7. According to studies, increasing your intake of dietary fibre significantly reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious and respiratory diseases.
When it comes to managing your appetite, blood sugar and insulin balance, it’s best to have fibre added to at least two meals daily. I would like you to think of it as important as protein in your meals for fat metabolism and hormonal health.
