Fiber, your friend and mine

Think of your digestive system as a race track and the food you eat as a runner.
Your toilet is the finish line.
Enter your friend and mine, fiber.
Fiber is like giving that runner a pill of speed or a shot of meth(without the scary sunken face and scabs).
That runner is gonna jet to the finish line in record time.
In essence, that runner is gonna win the race.

I've recently begun to eat a salad every day for lunch.
It's just one of the small efforts that one can make in the quest for a more perfect and balanced existence.
As you grow older or quit smoking cigarettes, your digestion slows. If you haven't noticed, old people
can sometimes seem to be obsessed with the speed of their digestion.
You can get ahead of the game today, by adding both soluble and insoluble fiber to your diet.

Now you might be asking yourself "What is the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber?"
Well, Billy or Suzie or Sally or Frank, that's a mighty good question.

"Both soluble and insoluble fiber are undigested. They are therefore not absorbed into the bloodstream. Instead of being used for energy, fiber is excreted from our bodies. Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble fiber does not. Insoluble fiber passes through our intestines largely intact."(From Gloria Tsang, RD)

So, why fiber? Why should you do it? Well, here's what the American Heart Association has to say about it...

"When eaten regularly as part of a diet low in saturated fat, trans fat and cholesterol, soluble fiber has been associated with increased diet quality and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease. Soluble or viscous fibers modestly reduce LDL cholesterol beyond levels achieved by a diet low in saturated and trans fatty acids and cholesterol alone. Oats have the highest proportion of soluble fiber of any grain. Foods high in soluble fiber include oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apple pulp.

Insoluble fiber has been associated with decreased cardiovascular risk and slower progression of cardiovascular disease in high-risk individuals. Dietary fiber may promote satiety by slowing gastric emptying, leading to an overall decrease in calorie intake. Foods high in insoluble fiber include whole-wheat breads, wheat cereals, wheat bran, rye, rice, barley, most other grains, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, turnips, cauliflower and apple skin."(AHA)

Fiber is a wonderous thing. The AHA has barely touched upon the splendors that you will find from a diet rich in fiber.

This is a public service announcement brought to you by all of us at the rant...and by all of us, I mean me.. and by me, I mean the crazy person who refers to me as us. Hold that thought. I need to run to the restroom.