Weight loss and foods that are better choices for Fiber

Are there magic foods that we can eat all day and still lose weight? No seriously: Are there? Please tell me! So far I haven’t found any… But there are some foods that are relatively low in calories yet have high nutritive value, either because they are high in fiber, phytonutrients such as antioxidants, or high in protein. These are foods to keep handy in the pantry, refrigerator, or garden and eat daily. Train your family – particularly children – to snack on these top ten foods rather than chips and sodas and you’ll be ahead of the nutrition curve before you know it!

Fiber is critical. Remember your grandmother telling you to eat more “roughage”? Well she was right! We need at least 25 grams a day, and ideally 35 grams a day, for a healthy bowel. I think the correlation between high fiber diets and lower cancer rates is not just from fiber but is synergistic, since most high fiber diets are high in fruits and vegetables, which are also high in antioxidants and other phytonutrients. But, fiber is clearly also very important and few Americans get enough.

Here is my current top ten list of high fiber low calorie foods:

1. Raspberries rank as one of the highest high fiber low calorie foods, at 8.0 grams of fiber and just 64 calories per serving (1-cup) (1 calorie per raspberry!).
2. Pears have about 5.1 grams of fiber and only 51 calories for a medium sized pear. They are easy to pack in a lunch and store well.
3. Apples provide about 4.4 grams of fiber, at roughly 55 calories for a small apple. Choose organic as apples are on the EWG dirty dozen list 2012.
4. Blueberries provide about 3.5 grams of fiber, and roughly 40 calories for 50 berries. Choose organic as blueberries are on the EWG dirty dozen list 2012.
5. Strawberries provide about 3.3 grams of fiber and average about 2 calories per strawberry. Choose organic as strawberries are on the EWG dirty dozen list 2012.
6. Black beans – 1 cup has 15 grams of fiber – along with 15 grams of protein – and just 227 calories[9]
7. Whole-wheat spaghetti weighs in at 6.3 g of fiber per serving and approximately 174 calories per 1-cup serving (always check the label as brands vary try gluten free)
8. One cup of steal oatmeal provides 4.0 grams of fiber and about 60 calories per serving
9. Whole wheat or multigrain breads offer 1.9 grams per slice and some start at 65 calories per slice (always check the label as brands vary – a lot!!!) (Again try gluten free)
10. Cooked peas, at a whopping 8.8 g of fiber and a low 67 calories per cup serving size. Turn a cup of peas into instant soup with a stick blender and some vegetable stock.

What are food we can leave out?

• Canned baked beans – pack a lot of fiber per serving, but also lots of sugar and sodium.
  • Processed foods – yes a processed food with added fiber is better than one without, but stick to the foods that mother nature made high in fiber for optimum health.
  •  Using your favorite app (mine is MyFitnessPal available on the app store and at myfitnesspal.com) track your food intake and see how much fiber you’re really getting!

When the first glycemic index was first released, most dieticians, nutritionists, and physicians were shocked by the results. It flew in the face of theory that all carbs are created equal. It meant that the food pyramid was also wrong and upside down. What they had been taught was wrong. For example, simple sugar like table sugar, also known as sucrose, had a glycemic index of 61 while sugar found in fruits, known as fructose, had a glycemic index of only 19.
So, a white potato (glycemic index of 85) or white bread (glycemic range in the 70’s) making both of these foods spike the blood sugar more readily than table sugar. Did you know that many of our healthy cereals, I mean that sarcastically, such as corn flakes, brain flakes and Cheerios top out the glycemic index scoring as high as 92! Has your trusted doctor or medical professional been recommending to you, a patient with type II diabetes or hypoglycemia to eat carbs that can dangerously spike the blood sugar levels? Something to think about huh? Did you realize that most medical professionals only receive one hour of nutrition in their entire education process?
Obviously, it takes time to make a paradigm shift. Especially, when it comes to a foundational theory that has been the mainstay of diet counseling for the past century. Our European counterparts are well beyond our nation in this discovery and use labels with the glycemic index printed on them. We now know that many who suffer from migraines have a greater correlation between glycemic levels and onsets of migraines. Seek out a holistic or integrative practitioner to help you find a plan for supplements, low glyecmic food plan and exercise to help reduce the migraines which may be a chemical imbalance.