How Much Fiber in Your Diet Promotes Optimal Health?

When you are looking to promote optimal health by maintaining a great diet, you have to do more than just eat the foods listed on the FDA food pyramid.  Not only must you create the right balance of foods, but you have to ensure that you are getting enough dietary fiber.  Fiber regulates the body’s digestive system and is essential for great health. Let’s look at just how much of it you should be taking in every day.

If you poll a sampling of health experts, you will likely come up with a recommendation of somewhere between twenty five and thirty five grams of fiber per day.  This means that you need to take in good-sized daily portions of wheat, barley, bran, rye, and vegetables.  Remember to mix it up so that you get all of the other benefits that these various foods offer.

Another thing to remember when trying to add fiber to your diet is to add it slowly.  While you want to reach the optimum level, going from five grams a day up to thirty five overnight is going to lead to some pretty interesting bowel problems.  Work your way up slowly over the course of a few weeks, and try new items from your local health food store or farmer’s market to provide color and flavor to your new diet.

Also, be certain that you are taking in enough water.  Fiber draws water into the bowels to bulk your stool, and you do not want to dehydrate your body. Once you know how much fiber you need, making the necessary dietary changes can be easy!