Digestive Health and Fiber
Fiber assists in weight loss because it makes you feel full faster, aids digestion, prevents constipation and hemorrhoids, and slow digestion to make you feel full longer. The typical person only eats 10-15 grams of fiber per day. When I tracked my own intake, I discovered I was only consuming around 14 grams. The recommendation is to consume 20-35 grams of fiber per day.
There are two different types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Soluble slows digestion and makes you feel full longer because it attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. It also lowers cholesterol and prevents heart disease. Oats, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and veggies are examples of this type of fiber. Insoluble speeds the passage of food through the digestive tract and adds bulk to stool. Examples include wheat bran, veggies, and whole grains.
If you need to increase the amount of fiber in your diet to meet the recommended amount, increase slowly over a period of a few weeks because adding large amounts of fiber to your diet in a short period of time causes gas, bloating, abdominal cramps, and maybe diarrhea. You have to ease your body into it. Try not to go too far above the recommended value because too much fiber might interfere with the absorption of minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc. Herbalife has a couple of products if you need to add fiber to your diet. They offer Florafiber supplement tablets and Fiber powder which can be added into your Herbalife Formula 1 Meal Replacement Shake. The new Herbalife Meal Replacement Bar has 5 grams of fiber, and the Herbalife Formula 1 shake mix offers 4 grams of fiber per serving.
Be sure to drink plenty of water to help the passage of fiber through the body, which introduces the topic of the next post...hydration!
*Any weight loss or health testimonials presented here are applicable to the individuals depicted and are not a guarantee of your weight loss nor are they typical. Herbalife products can be a healthy part of your weight loss program, which includes diet and exercise.
An extensive questionnaire generated responses from more than 200 U.S. Herbalife Independent Distributors about their weight-loss programs and results. They reported weight loss ranging from 4 pounds to 167 pounds and a reduced body mass index (BMI) of 1.5 points to 24.1 points, suggesting that consumption of Herbalife® products is associated with weight loss and improvement in BMI in those ranges.
**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
