fitness NEW YEAR, NEW YOU: EASY TIPS TO GET MORE FIBER For many, the new year provides a reason to examine the changes we would like to make for a healthier life. This January will be no different for the many Americans who will think about improving their diet. Focusing on fi ber intake is one important and easy modifi cation to consider. Research has shown that fi ber has a wide range of health benefi ts, but Americans struggle with getting their daily dose. The FDA recommends consuming 20 to 30 grams of fi ber per day, but less than 3 percent of Americans actually do so. “When it’s New Year’s resolution time, most people focus on foods they should avoid to make their diets more healthful,” says registered dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, brand ambassador for Sunsweet Growers Inc., the world’s largest handler of dried fruits. “I love talking to people about adding fi ber to the diet because it fl ips the typical healthy eating resolution on its head. Instead of focusing on what you can’t eat, it’s all about selecting those better-for-you foods like prunes and prune juice to add into the diet. It’s a more positive way of looking at health.” People typically associate fi ber with digestive health, and fi ber does play a critical role in regulating digestion. In addition to digestive health, the benefi ts of fi ber include: • Helping to keep you feeling fuller longer, which can aid in weight management • Lowering cholesterol, specifi cally with soluble fi ber found in foods like apples, oats and beans • Reducing the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes According to Blatner, adding fi ber into the diet can be easy and fl avorful with just a little planning. Ideally, she recommends choosing foods with natural fi ber rather than overly processed foods with added fi ber. Natural fi ber sources give you the added bonus of vitamins, minerals and healthy phytochemicals. Here are Blatner’s fi ve quick tips to increase natural fi ber intake this new year: “Veggify.” Add vegetables to your omelets, sandwiches, pizza and pasta. Add veggies dipped in lowfat dressing at lunch and start dinner with a little garden salad with chopped prunes for extra fl avor. Bean boost. Add beans and lentils to up your fi ber intake. Add black beans to tacos, garbanzos to salads, kidney beans to stir fries, white beans to pasta dishes and lentils to ground beef before making burger patties. Fruity snack time. On-the-go portable fruits such as apples, pears and oranges are good between-meal choices. Also Sunsweet Ones are individually wrapped prunes, which make it easy to toss into your purse, care or desk drawer as an easy anytime snack. Something Blatner loves is a DIY trail mix with Sunsweet’s Plum Amazins diced dried plums. Grain swap. Whole grain toast instead of white toast for breakfast, brown rice stir fry for lunch, whole grain crackers for a snack and whole grain pasta for dinner can go a long way in helping you to achieve the daily fi ber recommendation. Drink up. Fiber is not only for eating. You can also drink it. Sunsweet’s PlumSmart Light and Amazing Prune Light both provide a good source of fi ber with fewer calories and sugar than regular juice. Courtesy BPT
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