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High
Fiber Diet
The high-fiber diet provides bulk in
the diet and helps keep bowels regular
This diet can be used in relieving
symptoms, in
the prevention or treatment of diverticular disease, hemorrhoids,
constipation, cancer of the colon, Crohn's disease, hypercholesterolemia,
obesity, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Studies have shown that a balanced
diet containing different kinds of fiber can help regulate the bowels, aid in
the prevention of heart disease and protect against a number of other health
problems.
Another way fiber contributes to good
health is by helping to protect against cancer of the colon and rectum. Foods
that contain fiber also tend to contain other cancer fighting nutrients, such as
vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium.
Dietary Guidelines
-
Scan food labels for bread and
cereal products listing whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredient.
-
Look for cooked and ready to eat
cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.
-
Eat raw fruits and vegetables; they
have more fiber than cooked or canned foods, or juice. Dried fruits
(especially dried figs) are also good sources of fiber.
-
Increase fiber in meat dishes by
adding pinto beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, bran, or oatmeal.
-
Try adding 2-3 tsp. of unprocessed
wheat bran to foods such as meatloaf, casseroles, homemade breads, muffins and
other baked goods.
-
Dairy foods provide little fiber.
Increase fiber by adding fresh fruit, whole grain or bran cereals, nuts, or
seeds to yogurt or cottage cheese.
-
Chopping, peeling, cooking,
pureeing, and processing may reduce fiber content
-
Substitute oat bran for one third
of all purpose flour in baked goods recipes.
-
Best to eat a variety of foods and
not to rely on a fiber supplement
-
Do it gradually - rapid fiber
increase may result in gas, cramping, bloating, or diarrhea.
-
Drink plenty of fluids - at least 8
cups every day.
BREADS & GRAINS 6-11 servings each
day
-
Whole grain breads, muffins,
bagels, or pita bread
-
Rye bread
-
Whole wheat crackers or crisp
breads
-
Whole grain or bran cereals
-
Oatmeal, oat bran, or grits
-
Barley, dry
-
Wheat germ
-
Whole wheat pasta
-
Brown rice
VEGETABLES 3-5 servings each day
All vegetables such as asparagus,
broccoli, cabbage, carrots, green beans, green pepper, onions, peas, potatoes
with skin, snow peas, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, zucchini
FRUIT 2-4 servings each day
All fruits such as apple, banana,
berries, grapefruit, nectarine, orange, peach, pear
MILK & DAIRY 2-3 servings each day
All
MEAT & MEAT SUBSTITUTES 2-3
servings or total of 6 oz daily
-
All beans and peas such as garbanzo
beans, kidney beans, lentils, lima beans, split peas, and pinto beans
-
All nuts and seeds such as almonds,
peanuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, peanut butter, walnuts, sesame and sunflower
seeds
-
All meat, poultry, fish, and eggs
If you are following a low fat diet,
use nuts and seeds only in moderation.
FATS & SNACKS
-
Popcorn, whole-wheat pretzels,
baked tortilla corn chips or trail mix made with dried fruits, nuts, and seeds
-
Cakes, breads, and cookies made
with oatmeal, fruit, and nuts
-
Bean dip
The Top Twenty Fiber Foods -
This list can serve as a general
guide.
-
Dried beans, peas, and other
legumes - This includes baked beans, kidney beans, split peas, dried limas,
garbanzos, pinto beans and black beans.
-
Bran cereals - Topping this list
are Bran Buds and All-Bran, but 100% Bran, Raisin Bran, Most and Cracklin'
Bran are also excellent sources.
-
Fresh or frozen lima beans, both
Fordhook and baby limas
-
Fresh or frozen green peas
-
Dried fruit, topped by figs,
apricots and dates
-
Raspberries, blackberries and
strawberries
-
Sweet corn, whether on the cob or
cut off in kernels
-
Whole-wheat and other whole-grain
cereal products - Rye, oats, buckwheat and stone-ground cornmeal are all high
in fiber. Bread, pastas, pizzas, pancakes and muffins made with whole-grain
flours.
-
Broccoli-very high in fiber!
-
Baked potato with the skin - (The
skin when crisp is the best part for fiber.) Mashed and boiled potatoes are
good, too-but not french fries, which contain a high percentage of fat.
-
Green snap beans, pole beans, and
broad beans - (These are packaged frozen as Italian beans, in Europe they are
known as haricot or french beans.)
-
Plums, pears, and apples - The skin
is edible, and are all high in pectin.
-
Raisins and prunes - Not as high on
the list as other dried fruits (see #5) but very valuable.
-
Greens - Including spinach, beet
greens, kale, collards, swiss chard and turnip greens.
-
Nuts - Especially almonds, Brazil
nuts, peanuts, and walnuts (Consume these sparingly, because of their high fat
content.).
-
Cherries
-
Bananas
-
Carrots
-
Coconut - (dried or fresh-but both
are high in fat content).
-
Brussels sprouts
To provide a diet with 20 to 35 grams
of appropriate fiber to promote regular elimination and increases fecal
excretion.
This diet can be used for the
management of diverticulosis. The rationale for the increased fiber is that the
increased bulk in the stool reduces the pressure in the colon, thus preventing
further diverticula from forming.
Diverticulosis (the condition) and
diverticulitis (the inflammation) are also called diverticular disease (notice
the difference in endings, itis vs osis). Diverticula (the underlying cause of
diverticula is constipation: the pressure of straining produces pouches in the
colon) are tiny pea-shaped pouches of weakness in the wall of the large
intestine. This condition is called diverticulosis and is usually symptom-free.
Most people do not realize they have it. However, for a few people,
diverticulosis results in spasms and pain.
If the diverticuli become inflamed,
infected or ruptured, the condition is called diverticulitis. In other words, a
person with diverticulosis may get diverticulitis when waste matter is trapped
in a pouch and then becomes inflamed or infected. Diverticulitis can result in
fever, pain and tenderness around the left side of the lower abdomen and may
require surgery.
The two major signs of diverticular
disease are bleeding and infection.
THE HIGH FIBER DIET
Studies have shown that a balanced
diet containing different kinds of fiber can help regulate the bowels, aid in
the prevention of heart disease and protect against a number of other health
problems such as diverticulosis. Another way fiber contributes to good health is
by helping to protect against cancer of the colon and rectum. Foods that contain
fiber also tend to contain other cancer fighting nutrients, such as vitamin A,
vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium.
Dietary Guidelines
-
Many people have the misconception
they must avoid tiny seeds, grains, lettuce, and other high fiber containing
foods for fear that the particles could lodge in the diverticula and cause
inflammation. This has never been proven and in fact microscopic review of
surgical specimens show this to not be the case. There is no reason to avoid
such foods for fear they will precipitate disaster.
-
Foods such as nuts, popcorn hulls,
and sunflower, pumpkin, caraway, and sesame seeds should be avoided.
-
People differ in the amounts and
types of foods they can eat. Decisions about diet should be made based on what
works best for each person.
-
Scan food labels for bread and
cereal products listing whole grain or whole wheat as the first ingredient.
-
Look for cooked and ready to eat
cereals with at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.
-
Eat raw fruits and vegetables; they
have more fiber than cooked or canned foods, or juice. Dried fruits
(especially dried figs) are also good sources of fiber.
-
Increase fiber in meat dishes by
adding pinto beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, bran, or oatmeal.
-
Try adding 2-3 tsp. of unprocessed
wheat bran to foods such as meatloaf, casseroles, homemade breads, muffins and
other baked goods.
-
Dairy foods provide little fiber.
Increase fiber by adding fresh fruit, whole grain or bran cereals to yogurt or
cottage cheese.
-
Chopping, peeling, cooking,
pureeing, and processing may reduce fiber content
-
Substitute oat bran for one third
of all-purpose flour in baked goods recipes.
-
Best to eat a variety of foods and
not to rely on a fiber supplement
-
Do it gradually rapid fiber
increase may result in gas, cramping, bloating, or diarrhea.
-
Drink plenty of fluids - A
high-fiber diet requires lots of liquids. Fiber acts as a sponge in your large
intestine - if you don't drink enough, you could become constipated. Try for
at least 6 cups daily.
HIGH FIBER DIET - Suggestion
BREADS & GRAINS 6-11 servings each
day
-
Bread, pastas, pizzas, pancakes,
muffins, bagels, pita bread and muffins made with whole-grain flours
-
Whole-wheat and other whole-grain
cereal products
-
Buckwheat and stone-ground cornmeal
-
Rye bread
-
Whole wheat crackers or crisp
breads
-
Whole grain or bran cereals
(Excellent high fiber choices are Bran Buds and All-Bran, but 100% Bran,
Raisin Bran, Most and Cracklin' Bran are also excellent sources)
-
Oatmeal, oat bran, or grits
-
Barley, dry
-
Wheat germ
-
Whole wheat pasta
-
Brown rice
VEGETABLES 3-5 servings each day
All vegetables such as asparagus,
broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, Greens such as beet greens, kale,
collards, Swiss chard and turnip greens, green beans, green pepper, onions,
peas, potatoes with skin, Romaine, snow peas, green snap beans, pole beans,
broad beans, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, turnips
The seeds in tomatoes, zucchini,
cucumbers, as well as poppy seeds, are generally considered harmless
FRUIT 2-4 servings each day
All fruits such as apple, apricot,
banana, blackberries, blueberries, cherries, dates, fig, grapefruit, nectarine,
orange, peach, pear, pineapple, prune
The seeds in strawberries and
raspberries are generally considered harmless
MILK & DAIRY 2-3 servings each day
All
MEAT & MEAT SUBSTITUTES 2-3 servings
or total of 6 oz daily
-
All beans and peas such as azuki,
garbanzo beans, black beans, baked beans, kidney beans, fava, lentils, lima
beans, split peas, and pinto beans
-
Smooth peanut butter and other
smooth nut butters
-
All meat, poultry, fish, and eggs
The seeds in poppy seeds are
generally considered harmless
FATS & SNACKS
-
Whole-wheat pretzels, baked
tortilla corn chips or trail mix made with dried fruits
-
Cakes, breads, and cookies made
with oatmeal or fruit
-
Bean dip
The above opinionated
views and information serves to educated and informed consumer . The
information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or
for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. .It should not replaced
professional advise and consultation. A licensed physician should be
consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions
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