There are two types of fiber. Soluble fiber, which helps to keep your blood sugar controlled and lowers cholesterol, and insoluble fiber, which keeps the food moving through your body. Insoluble fiber includes food such as fruits, vegetables and grains. Soluble fiber includes foods such as fruits, barley, oats, beans, peas, when the soluble fiber mixes with liquid it forms a gel which is responsible for lowering your cholesterol and controlling your blood sugar. Both types of fibers are not digestible by the body. When reading the food label be sure that the food has at least 10% of the daily value of dietary fiber. If you are not used to fiber, add it to your diet slowly. Eating too much at once can cause rushed trips to the bathroom, bloating or gas pains. Be sure to drink plenty of water to keep the fiber moving all the way through.

Here are five tasty ways to boost your fiber intake each day:

1. Eat oatmeal for breakfast-Oatmeal is packed full of soluble fiber. Add some raspberries on top for added fiber.
2. Snack on nuts and seeds-You can even buy these in snack sized bags.
3. Eat lentils for dinner- Lentils are cheap and very healthy for you. Adding lentils to soups and vegetarian dishes will get you closer to the recommend amount of fiber for the day.
4. Choose whole grain bread over white bread: Be sure that the first ingredient listed says whole grain wheat. If it says enriched flour, then they are just tricking you into thinking it is whole wheat, when in reality it is just colored brown. One piece of whole wheat bread can give you up to 5 grams of fiber.
5. Eat 5 a day- By eating a mixture of 5 fruits and vegetables a day, you can increase your fiber intake. Never remove the skins of the fruits, because they contain a lot of fiber.

1. Smoothies. An easy way to load up on 3 or more servings of fruit at a time, smoothies are a great grab n’ go breakfast!  Try adding different combinations of your favorite fruits with a bit of plain Greek yogurt for a tasty protein boost.  Check out my daughter and I making her favorite smoothie together!
2. Get your greens. Try keeping a large green salad on the table at dinners and as a staple in your lunches to ensure an extra bit of veggies.  Add whatever veggies you and your family love, top it with a delicious salad dressing that’s lower in calories, and you’re all set.
3. Add in veggies. Every meal of the day can get a boost from an extra dose of veggies, but it’s great to boost your breakfast, since it’s usually low on the veggies.   Toss chopped veggies into your morning omelettes, mix in pumpkin or sweet potato to your oatmeal, or throw some fresh baby spinach into your smoothie!
4. Go for easily portable fruit. Bananas are perhaps the easiest, as they come in their own ‘package’, but can get bruised easily, so keep them at the top of your bag or purse.  Other great fruits for snacking on the go include apples, kiwis, and grapes.
5. Sip on soup. With the fall weather approaching, soups are a great way to pack in more veggies, especially if you make them yourself.  Try roasted butternut squash and apple soup, broccoli and potato soup, or sweet potato and corn chowder.  Potatoes are particularly useful, in that they can help thicken up soups without adding in any cream.
6. Dip ‘em. If you’re not looking forward to eating some chopped veggies as a snack, try buying a few of your favorite dips the next time you’re at the grocery store.  Hummus, made from chickpeas, is now widely available in a variety of flavors, including roasted garlic, red pepper, and sun-dried tomato.  You can also try a bean dip or spread, or simply your favorite nut butter.
7. Cook extra. When you’re making a big family meal, cook extra veggies so that you can have them available in the fridge for the next couple of days, making it easier to heat them up quickly for a snack.  If you’re firing up the BBQ, toss on some peppers, zucchini and onions to get that grilled flavor.  If you’ve already got the oven heated up, toss some potatoes, onions, and carrots on a baking sheet to get that delicious roasted flavor.
8. Add them to baked goods. If you’re a fan of baking your own homemade treats, you probably know how flexible some recipes are.  Most muffin, cookie, or bread recipes can accommodate an extra dose of veggies – think zucchini bread!  Be careful to choose a recipe that’s low in sugar and calories – you can swap applesauce and canned pumpkin in many cookie recipes to replace most of the fat.

What about you?  What are your tricks to increase your fruits and veggies?

Assistance provided by Megan Skinner

Research assistance provided by Monica Lobo, RD.

Since we were children, we viewed cherries as a bonus, a reward. (Remember asking “pretty please with a cherry on top?”) But there’s nothing extra about it; tart cherries should be an essential component of your diet. Plant compounds known as phenolics are abundant in tart cherries, giving the fruit valuable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

One of the primary phenolics is anthocyanin, which assists in the blocking of inflammation-cauing enzymes. The darker the cherry, the more anthocyanin it is believed to contain. Anthocyanin’s benefits are believed to extend to the reduction of conditions such as gout, arthritis, and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Although phenolics are present in sweet cherries as well, tart cherries are thought to contain greater amounts of the compound while also containing less sugars. Either way, both types of cherries are thought to have much greater concentrations of these kinds of phenolics than other fruits.

Cherries are always available, no matter the season, so why not give the tart cherry a try? They’re easy to add to cereals and oatmeals, salads, desserts, and even smoothies and juices. Look for frozen tart cherries in the frozen foods section of the grocery store and make one of my favorite smoothies.

Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie

1/2 cup tart cherries

1 cup 1 % organic milk

1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Blend and enjoy this yummy treat!

Have you tried tart cherries?

Assistance provided by Pam Majumdar

What are some benefits to consuming dietary fiber? Dietary fiber may reduce appetite by adding “bulk” to your diet, which allows you to feel full faster and get fewer calories per volume. Dietary fiber may also reduce heart disease risk by lowering total and LDL cholesterol. Some other benefits are helping in regulating blood sugar, slowing absorption of glucose, adding bulk to stool, balancing intestinal pH, etc.

The American Dietetic Association recommends at least 20 to 35 grams of fiber per day for a healthy adult. However, the average American’s intake is usually around 12 to 18 grams per day.

Soo…how can we add more fiber into our diet? Read on to find out!

1. Leave the skins on fruits and vegetables. When you’re eating fruits and vegetables such as pears, apples, and potatoes, don’t peel them. Most of the fiber is in the skin!

2. Eat a fresh orange instead of drinking juice

3. Replace your dessert with a bowl of fruits. Mix raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries in a bowl, or any other fruits you want.

4. Cook brown rice instead of white rice. Not only is brown rice high in dietary fiber, it’s also a good source of iron and many B vitamins

5. Do you love muffins as breakfast? Choose bran muffins instead of chocolate chip muffins!

6. Add more vegetables to your soups! Or have vegetables as snacks (such as stalks of celery with peanut butter, yum!). Salsa can also be a source of vegetables!

7. Add fruits to your meal! Not only will adding fruits to yogurt or cereal increase dietary fiber, it’ll also make your mouth smile!

Keep in mind that eating too much fiber can lead to bloating, gas, and other digestive discomfort! Yikes!

How about you? How do you add dietary fiber into your everyday diet?

By Mitzi Dulan with research assistance from Rachel Yam