Fiber!

[sansglutengrl]

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to send out a request for what you do to make sure you get enough fiber in your diet. Both of my parents recently passed away due to colon cancer, and I've been researching the serious risks involved in being constipated most of the time.

My diet (like most Americans) is and has always been very low in fiber. I eat a rice based cereal for breakfast, some yogurt and chips or something for lunch, and then some starch based thing for dinner. Add some chocolate and juice in there, and that's basically it.

So - I need to do a major overhaul of my diet. I've been adding lots of fruit all over the place, and I've been doing broccoli and things at dinner and doing salad whenever I can - but I still feel like I'm not getting enough. I'm secretly jealous of those who can eat a bowl of Cracklin' Oat Bran in the morning and get a lot of their daily fiber intake.

Tell me: What do you do for fiber??

[Mango04]

brown rice, lentils, beans, flax, quinoa, raw fruits and veggies.

Add some natural, whole foods and make sure you get plenty of vegetables.

Perky's Nutty Flax cereal might be a good choice for you, instead of the rice based stuff. You could always do smoothies for breakfast and add in some ground flax meal.

[jerseyangel]

Popcorn--I make my own with light olive oil and a touch of sea salt.

[missy'smom]

Bob's Red Mill Might Tasty Hot Cereal

[cruelshoes]

GIG has a great printable handout about adding fiber to your diet: Open Original Shared Link

[celiac-mommy]

gluten-free oats, berries--especially raspberries, even frozen!! We eat a LOT of fruits and veggies. Dried fruits are good too, like apricots. If you like your yogurt, add gound flax and raspberries to it for an extra boost. Nuts are good too.

[gluten15]

FLAX, FLAX, FLAX

Everyone for so many reasons should eat flax everyday. While the best benefits come from ground flax..I also use who flax as a great source of fiber. I also use whole flax as a snack as one would eat nuts. I try and see how fine I can chew it..lol

Plus..we are fresh spinache freaks. Down tons of it daily in eggs and salads.

Brocoli, quinoa, buckwheat.

We also do a lot of what has already been mentioned. We do popcorn cooked in really good first virgin coconut oil and sea salt.

[gfpaperdoll]

My mother died of colon cancer... I am double DQ1

Flax is not for everyone, I would check it out before adding to your diet.

I do not eat grains, (except occasional corn tortilla maybe once a week-my weekend indulgence) if you do not eat grains - you will eat a lot of fresh fruit & veggies & meat & nuts.

dried fruits are also a good snack & a source of fiber...

I have also eliminated corn syrup from my diet, & make my own ketchup out of tomato paste - & you will have to look to find a brand that only has tomatoes...

I also only drink water.

[itchygirl]

Coconut. I eat a Jennies macaroon every morning for breakfast. Coconut is great for bowel health. Jennies also has an even higher fiber gluten free coconut bar with flax, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds which is quite tasty.

I'd way rather have a Jennies macaroon than a bowl of cracking oat horse feed

Unfortunately fiber has no effect on colon cancer so while not being constipated certainly will make you feel better, it in no way decreases your risk....from Harvard School of Public Health for example...

Open Original Shared Link

Fiber and colon cancer

For years, Americans have been told to consume a high-fiber diet to lower the risk of colon cancer - mainly on the basis of results from relatively small studies. Larger and better-designed studies have failed to show a link between fiber and colon cancer. One of these - a Harvard study that followed over 80,000 female nurses for 16 years - found that dietary fiber was not strongly associated with a reduced risk for either colon cancer or polyps (a precursor to colon cancer).(1)

But just because fiber plays little role in preventing colon cancer doesn't mean you should abandon a high-fiber diet. As explained below, fiber provides many other benefits.

[Offthegrid]

How are you guys making your own popcorn with olive oil? That sounds really good! I have an air popper, but the popcorn has absolutely no flavor, so I don't eat it very often.

[jerseyangel]

How are you guys making your own popcorn with olive oil? That sounds really good! I have an air popper, but the popcorn has absolutely no flavor, so I don't eat it very often.

I use a heavy-bottom stainless steel pan and cook it right on the stove. I cover the bottom of the pan with light olive oil (enough to just cover) and pour in enough plain popcorn kernels to generously cover the oil. I have a electric glass cooktop and set it to medium high (6).

I let it heat up uncovered until the kernels start to sizzle and then put the cover on--leaving a small space for air. When the corn is popping really fast, I turn off the heat and let it finish. Be sure to take the pan off the heat as soon as it's just about finished popping so it doesn't scortch.

It's really simple once you get the hang of it

[Ursa Major]

I am right now reading a book called 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' by Gary Taube. A real eye opener! It confirms a lot of other research I have done over the years. Plus, Gary is a scientific journalist and has access to information I wouldn't be able to get my hands on.

There has been lots of research and trials done on which foods are good for you and which ones are bad. There is not a shred of evidence that fiber makes any difference to health!

If you eliminate all processed grains, sugar and starches (that includes white rice), and eat plenty of meat, eggs, fish, fat, non-starchy vegetables, some fruit and drink enough water, any constipation will likely resolve itself. Also, dairy and soy can cause constipation.

It is carbohydrates (especially sugars and processed grains, and starches like corn starch) that make people fat, and cause constipation (or diarrhea, as is the case with gluten grains for us).

I know for myself, that I only get constipated (severely so) when eating grains or starches. I am fine when I stay away from them.

I get D only from grains (especially gluten grains and rice), potatoes and eggs (even though normally eggs are very healthy, in this case it is just me who has a problem).

[itchygirl]

Something else you may wish to consider if you're really really constipated and normal stuff (like added fiber, more water, prunes) is not helping is autonomic neuropathy, yet another condition which is linked to celiac disease

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

I got dx'd with this by my urilogist, after a rather annoying test

I have PN too so it makes sense....

[gfpaperdoll]

Ursa, I am so glad you are reading that book - you are going to love it!!!!

after that one I read "Omnivore's Dilemma" also very good, in a different way.

It is my personal opinion that what causes colon cancer is grains (well & dairy).

[Ursa Major]

Ursa, I am so glad you are reading that book - you are going to love it!!!!

after that one I read "Omnivore's Dilemma" also very good, in a different way.

It is my personal opinion that what causes colon cancer is grains (well & dairy).

And lack of enough saturated and mono-unsaturated fats. It was found that men on low-fat diets had a much higher incidence of colon cancer, while women on low-fat diets had a 50% higher chance of getting breast cancer.

That is another thing. Not enough fat can cause constipation as well. And using only vegetable fat leads to disease, too. Our bodies need animal fat, and some vegetable fat as well.

[itchygirl]

Just footnoting Ursa in case anybody wants to look further. Short Chain fatty acids and colon health is a wayyy interesting topic!

Open Original Shared Link

[gluten15]

How are you guys making your own popcorn with olive oil? That sounds really good! I have an air popper, but the popcorn has absolutely no flavor, so I don't eat it very often.

Well..while I am reluctant to say anything anymore because anytime I suggest something..you would think I know nothing since someone always follows with a remark as why not to do.

I actually pop mine on the stove with really good pure virgin coconut oil and sea salt. The coconut oil is really good for you too..so a added benefit and you aren't cooking in bad oil. Win..win.

[Ursa Major]

Well..while I am reluctant to say anything anymore because anytime I suggest something..you would think I know nothing since someone always follows with a remark as why not to do.

I actually pop mine on the stove with really good pure virgin coconut oil and sea salt. The coconut oil is really good for you too..so a added benefit and you aren't cooking in bad oil. Win..win.

That sounds great, and very healthy! Olive oil really shouldn't be heated, as it becomes toxic at high temperatures. But coconut oil is extremely heat stable, and is the best cooking oil there is.

[gluten15]

My mother died of colon cancer... I am double DQ1

Flax is not for everyone, I would check it out before adding to your diet.

I do not eat grains, (except occasional corn tortilla maybe once a week-my weekend indulgence) if you do not eat grains - you will eat a lot of fresh fruit & veggies & meat & nuts.

dried fruits are also a good snack & a source of fiber...

I have also eliminated corn syrup from my diet, & make my own ketchup out of tomato paste - & you will have to look to find a brand that only has tomatoes...

I also only drink water.

Well..Flax is really good for almost everyone. Why don't you post what you have heard for us?

Flax is one of the best things many can add to thier diet..but it goes without saying that not everything is for everyone and we all should check out EVERYTHING before adding it to our diet.

Flaxseed OIL yes..be careful with this..but flaxseed..hmmm

For MOST the numerous benefits of flax seed outway the bad.

Be careful with the dried fruit. Raises the sugar content and most are done with sulfites. It also should be from a organic source as many fruits are the most oversprayed. It's also higher in carbs and calories unless that's what you are looking for.

[jerseyangel]

That sounds great, and very healthy! Olive oil really shouldn't be heated, as it becomes toxic at high temperatures. But coconut oil is extremely heat stable, and is the best cooking oil there is.

I wish I could tolerate coconut oil, but I get very ill from coconut.

I use light olive oil for things like popcorn--it has a higher smoke point than, say extra virgin.

[itchygirl]

Well..while I am reluctant to say anything anymore because anytime I suggest something..you would think I know nothing since someone always follows with a remark as why not to do.

Uh... does this mean I should not mention how good popcorn is with bacon grease?

[tarnalberry]

beans, lentils, gluten-free whole grains, vegetables (lots of those!), flax meal is good in lots of things, and the like. starchy stuff screws with my blood sugar, so I can't have it anyway... :/

[sansglutengrl]

Wow! Thanks everyone - I have some great ideas to run with! I think I was getting frustrated because I was thinking around meals, but I'm realizing now that you can fit fiber in as a snack, etc. etc. it doesn't have to be a bowl full of horse feed for breakfast.

Two questions: gfpaperdoll - what is "double DQ1"

And everyone else - I've cut out almost 100% of processed food out of my diet - for the most part, thanks to the organic craze - I've moved to almost entirely organic foods... But I'm curious about corn sugar - this can be found in some organic food, right? Is this something that I need to cut out as well?

Ok, one more - has anyone tried the raw foods thing?

Thanks all! I hope it's not raining where you are - I think if I don't see the sun soon I might lose my mind.

[Ursa Major]

And everyone else - I've cut out almost 100% of processed food out of my diet - for the most part, thanks to the organic craze - I've moved to almost entirely organic foods... But I'm curious about corn sugar - this can be found in some organic food, right? Is this something that I need to cut out as well?

Ok, one more - has anyone tried the raw foods thing?

Thanks all! I hope it's not raining where you are - I think if I don't see the sun soon I might lose my mind.

High fructose corn syrup is one of the WORST sugars out there. It is more unhealthy than just normal white sugar and should be avoided at all cost. Open Original Shared Link

I can't do the 'raw foods thing', because I can't tolerate too much raw food at a time. A few carrots once in a while, and a (peeled) pear every day or every second day is it. I probably never will be able to eat a lot of raw food, I imagine due to permanent damage from undiagnosed gluten intolerance for fifty years.

Well, the sun was shining here a few minutes ago, but we still have a ton of snow on the ground (despite it pouring rain all day two days ago). It was snowing a little a couple of hours ago.

Spring will come soon, but not that soon where I am.

[babysteps]

good 'starter' popcorn method (well, works for me) - roughly 1:3 oil-to-popcorn (similar to what it says on the popcorn package; I use olive oil, my mother used pan drippings - so yes, bacon fat is yummy!!). I use a stockpot on the stove top. Put oil in pot with 3 kernels of popcorn, cover with lid, set heat on medium (I use "7" out of "1-12" on my stove). When all 3 kernels pop, add the rest of the popcorn. Then shake constantly until popping stops (or popcorn reaches lid ). Yum

Raw food, spouse & I did modified 'purification' diet (similar to a caveman diet - more raw than most, but not strictly raw) for 3 weeks this winter - raw fruit, mostly raw veggies (some were "okay" to steam, for example asparagus and even broccoli), some vitamin supplements, okay to cook brown rice, eggs, lean meat; a very little bit of flax oil or olive oil. And that was IT - no salt, no pepper, no spices (herbs okay), no nuts, no seeds. Drink only spring or filtered water, etc. Anyway, details aren't as important (there are many similar 'diets', each with their own rules) as that we actually felt really good. And no CC! However it is a hassle - can't really eat out unless you are in LA or NYC and have a raw food restaurant nearby