If you talk on the phone while walking the dog, or check your Twitter feed while on the treadmill, you may be a pro at multi-tasking. Fiber is also a multi-tasker. Not only does it support your intestinal health, it’s also good for your heart health. In a Vitality magazine article, holistic pharmacist Sherry Torkos gave readers four reasons fiber is good for their ticker. Since getting enough daily fiber is often a challenge, Torkos also shared what to look for in a fiber supplement. Spoiler alert: She prefer Regular Girl’s fiber source, Sunfiber.
Torkos provided four reasons that fiber is good for your heart:
- Fiber helps promote healthy cholesterol levels, by helping lower your bad (LDL) cholesterol levels.
- Fiber helps support normal, healthy blood pressure.
- Fiber helps manage your blood glucose levels, important for diabetics and those at-risk for heart disease.
- Fiber helps provide a feeling of fullness (satiety), which helps you manage your weight (also good for you heart).
Foods with fiber
The Institute of Medicine recommends 25 grams of fiber each day for women and 30 grams for men. “There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble,” said Torkos. “Both are important to your health.” Soluble fiber is found in foods such as apples, avocados, oats, barley and seeds such as chia and flaxseed. Insoluble fiber is found in foods such as wheat bran, berries, oranges and many vegetables.
Consider a fiber supplement
Supplements are a convenient way to boost your fiber intake. “Fiber powders provide more fiber per serving than capsules,” said Torkos. “They are also more cost effective.” She also suggested using a fiber supplement which mixes well with water, and drinking plenty of water with the supplement. “That helps improve tolerability and deliver the fiber to the colon, where it works best,” she added.
Torkos prefers Regular Girl which contains six grams of Sunfiber, so it helps with both occasional constipation and diarrhea. She mentions that Sunfiber is, “… made from partially hydrolyzed guar gum through a slow-fermentation process, which leads to better tolerability (less gas and bloating).” It’s also easy to take. Regular Girls is colorless, odorless and tasteless when mixed into water or juice. You can also sprinkle it onto your morning yogurt or blend it into a smoothie. 