If you are old enough to remember the very low-fat Pritikin diet, the Zone diet that helped people shed weight by using the 40/30/30 percentages for carbs, protein and fats, or more recently the Atkin's diet of high protein and very low to no carbohydrates, then you will understand the confusion surrounding what is considered a healthy, balanced diet.
It may not surprise you, then, to learn that many nutritionists and physicians now endorse a varied diet that includes a wide-ranging spectrum of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats, fish, poultry, low-fat dairy products and non-refined complex carbohydrates.
What is also important? High fiber foods. High fiber foods will allow you to feel full and eat less and it will also move the food through your digestive tract to contribute to a sense of well-being.
Whether your goal is weight loss or weight management, high fiber foods contribute to a feeling of satiety and that translates into fewer calories consumed and stored as body fat.
According to the nonprofit group World's Healthiest Foods, experts say that depending on the sex, age and needs of an individual, you may need 21 to 38 grams of fiber a day. One cup of garbanzo beans has 12.5 grams of fiber, and many legumes are also high in fiber.
A high fiber diet can maintain regularity, lower blood cholesterol and help keep blood sugar levels normal.
If you suffer from constipation, hypertension or any blood sugar irregularities, the culprit may be a low fiber diet of processed, refined foods.
Eating a variety of legumes, fruits and vegetables, including dark leafy greens such as kale (Black, dinosaur, Lacinto or curly kale), collard greens, Swiss chard, seeds and dried fruits such as prunes, will provide adequate high fiber.
What to Look for
According to the National Academy of Science in its 2005 recommendations, 38 grams of fiber daily for men ages 19 to 50 years old is a good baseline, and 25 grams for women of the same age. Again, unlike any of the past food fads that eliminated or severely restricted foods from any one food group, aim to eat a wide variety of foods to stave off boredom.
Common Pitfalls
If you have previously been eating fast foods or foods that come packaged in a box in the frozen section of the grocery store, ease gradually into a health high fiber way of eating.
This might mean starting with fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast, a homemade chili for lunch and large salad with chicken breast with whole wheat rolls for dinner.
Do not attempt to eat a strictly raw food diet of raw fruits and salads. Your body will rebel and is likely to reward you with gas, bloating and discomfort--or the other extreme of your food passing through you too quickly before your body can absorb its vitamins and nutrients.
The middle path is best and easiest to sustain. Start with one meal and snacks that are whole food in nature, not refined or processed, and every week add a few more high fiber items. For example,
perhaps start with eating a salad every other day, adding unskinned fruits and unsalted nuts a week later.
Consult a nutritionist or your physician before making any radical changes to the way you eat, and you may soon discover that it becomes the way that you like to eat the most.
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