Enhance Satiety With Soluble Fiber

Fiber is an important part of our daily diet and can be obtained easily from fruits and vegetables.  It is currently recommended that we consume about 25 - 35 grams of fiber each day in order to obtain the many benefits of fiber.  Unfortunately, it has been reported that less than half of us consume enough fiber.  One way to increase our fiber intake is to add it to the beverages we drink.  Many fiber supplements easily dissolve in liquids, making this a simple way to increase our fiber intake.  A recent study on the impact of soluble fiber and appetite suggests that another benefit of soluble fiber might be its ability to make us feel fuller.

In this nutrition research study, study investigators examined the impact of four types of fiber on feelings of fullness (satiety) and energy intake at the next meal.  For this study, 14 men and 22 women were enrolled and completed 6 study sessions.  Study volunteers were asked to consume a solid snack with a liquid beverage in the mornings.  This liquid beverage contained one of four different types of fiber: soluble fiber dextrin, soluble corn fiber, polydextrose, and resistant starch.  The volunteers' feelings of fullness were measured every 20 minutes for 3 hours and 40 minutes after consumption of this snack and beverage.  Study volunteers were then provided a noontime meal and the amount of food not eaten was measured.  The study investigators reported that all four fibers and the control snack with a similar amount of calories increased feelings of fullness and less hunger compared to a snack with lower calorie levels.  However, the researchers indicated that only the consumption of the soluble fiber dextrin resulted in a reduced calorie intake at the noontime meal.

This is an interesting study that suggests not all fibers are the same when it comes to their impact on our overall food consumption.  While all four of the fibers tested helped the study subjects to feel full and reduced their hunger, only consumption of the dextrin fiber altered how much food the study subjects consumed.  While many people use fiber supplements solely for the health benefits of fiber, some use fiber as a weight loss tool because of fiber's ability to reduce our hunger.  While reducing hunger with fiber consumption can be a good weight loss tool, this study suggests that picking the right fiber might be necessary to obtain the full weight loss benefits of fiber.  Since this was a small study of only a few adults, it will be necessary to confirm these results in a larger study.  In the meantime, if you are considering adding fiber to your drinks in an attempt to lose weight, you might want to consider trying different forms of fiber to find what works best for you.

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Make Healthy Eating a Lifetime Habit!

Many of us have gone through the weight cycling process... go on a diet to lose the unwanted weight, gain the unwanted pounds back, then go on another diet.  Unfortunately, over time this seems to lead to additional weight gain since we often seem to regain more than we originally lost.  Additionally, it has been suggested that weight cycling might have negative health effects.  A better approach, of course, is to follow a healthy diet plan to reach a healthy body weight and then maintain that new healthy weight for life.  But how successful are we at doing this?

A research review paper examined the scientific literature on long-term weight loss studies to determine the answer to just that question.  This new study examined long-term changes in the daily intake of fat, fruit, vegetables, and fiber in multiple clinical trials that included over 62,000 study volunteers. According to the study investigators:

• Study volunteers overall were able to maintain a reduction in dietary fat consumption and an increase in fiber and fruit and vegetable consumption for 1 year.
• Each following year showed a reduction in the ability to maintain a healthy diet as dietary choices slowly reverted back to the unhealthy choices made at the beginning of each study.
• Only one study reported successful maintenance of healthy eating habits beyond one year.

It is clear from this study that the majority of us find if difficult to develop and maintain healthy eating habits permanently.  While healthy eating habits need to be a life-long choice, it is a choice many of us find very difficult.  There are many reasons for this including the cost of healthy food choices, the bombardment of advertisements for unhealthy, energy-dense foods, and the comparatively poorer availability of healthy options.  Our inability to develop life-long healthy eating patterns is due to a combination of the choices we ourselves make and the food environment to which we are exposed.  Changes to both of these will be needed if we ever hope to develop better eating habits as a population and reduce the incidence of obesity.

Foods high in protein with a low glycemic index can be healthier options than many energy-dense foods that typically provide little nutritional value.  My protein bars and shakes are a delicious, low glycemic part of my easy diet plan, making them a great way to lose weight without punishing yourself with hunger.

Fiber Is Lacking In American Diets

Fiber is an important part of our daily diet.  The Institute of Medicine recommends that women consume between 21-26 grams and that men consume between 30-38 grams of fiber daily.  Despite these recommendations, new marketing research from Mintel, a leading market research company, suggests that Americans are not consuming enough fiber in their diets.  According to a press release, this market analysis of dietary fiber intake revealed:

• Only 20% of consumers look for and purchase products with added health claims, suggesting that only a small number of consumers are looking for fiber-enriched products.
• 25% of survey respondents think fiber is only needed for individuals with digestive difficulties.
• 22% of consumers are unaware of the health benefits of dietary fiber intake.
• The market research suggests that the prevalence of inadequate fiber intake might be due to the number of people (27%) who are under the impression that fiber-rich foods taste poorly.

Considering the importance of dietary fiber for human health and well-being, the results of this survey are unsettling.  While no final numbers were provided in the press release, this survey suggests that a pretty large percentage of the American population are not getting enough fiber in their diet.  Research suggests that getting enough fiber in the diet appears to reduce the risk of developing various health conditions including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, constipation, and diverticulitis.  In fact, the U.S. FDA has issued a health claim for dietary fiber and heart disease that states "diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain some types of dietary fiber, particularly soluble fiber, might reduce the risk of heart disease, a disease associated with many factors".

Based on the importance of dietary fiber, it is imperative that we all make sure to consume enough each day.  Small changes in dietary habits can make a big difference in regards to dietary fiber consumption.  Simple ways to increase our dietary fiber intake include:

• Snacking on raw vegetables instead of less healthy options
• Getting our fruit serving each day through whole fruits instead fruit juices.
• Replacing refined grains (white bread, white rice, etc) with whole grain products (whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc.)
• Looking for fiber-enriched products when grocery shopping

My milk protein shakes and soy protein bars, which are delicious parts of my easy diet plan, are both good sources of dietary fiber.  Visit us online to learn more.

A Pre-Meal Prune Snack for Weight Management

A common weight management strategy is to focus on foods that provide higher levels of satiety (feelings of fullness) in an attempt to reduce hunger and overall calorie intake.  Foods rich in protein and fiber are commonly used as part of this weight loss strategy.  A new study explored the potential benefit of including prunes (dried European plums) as part of a pre-meal snack as a strategy to reduce subsequent food consumption.

In their study, researchers provided 45 healthy, normal weight men with one of two pre-meal snacks.  One of the pre-meal snacks included prunes, while the other pre-meal snack included a bread product (instead of the prunes) and had the same caloric value and weight.  After consuming their pre-meal snack, the study volunteers were offered an all-you-can-eat meal with dessert.  Food and dessert intake and feelings associated with appetite were assessed.  The study investigators reported that:

• Volunteers consuming the prune-based snack consumed fewer calories at the following meal.
• Consuming the prune-based pre-meal snack also resulted in a lower amount of dessert consumed after the meal.
• At all time points tested between consumption of the snack and the following meal, volunteers who ate the prune-based snack reported less hunger and a less desire to eat.

The results of this study suggest that prunes have a satiating effect, thereby reducing food consumption at the next meal.  The study investigators suggest that the ability of prunes to increase one's feeling of fullness is likely due to their fiber content; one-fourth cup of prunes contains more than 10% of the daily value of dietary fiber.  In addition to promoting satiety, dietary fiber has been reported to have a number of potential health benefits, so including fiber-rich foods is a healthy choice for any diet plan. 

Making snacks or meals that are rich in satiety-promoting ingredients like fiber and protein, can be an effective part of a good weight management plan.  By aiming for foods that help you feel full, you can reduce overall caloric intake throughout the day.  My protein bars and shakes contain 20 grams of protein to help you feel full and my soy protein bars also contain 5 grams of healthy fiber.  Visit us to learn more.

Effect of Soluble Fiber on Gut Peptides

Dietary fiber has been reported to provide a number of benefits, including benefits for heart health, blood sugar health, and weight loss.  The benefits of dietary fiber for weight loss are due to its ability to reduce appetite.  This ability is partly related to the viscous nature of fiber and its ability to add bulk to the diet.  However, recent research has indicated that dietary fiber might also effect hormones produced by our digestive tracts.

A new research study explored the effect of soluble dietary fiber (psyllium) on hormones produced in the digestive tract.  For this study investigators assigned 16 healthy volunteers to one of five test meals: [1] Low Protein & Low Fiber (6-7 grams), [2] Low Protein & High Fiber (23 grams), [3] High Protein & Low Fiber, [4] High Protein & High Fiber, or  [5] white wheat bread.  The researchers measured multiple hormones and asked the volunteers to rate their hunger and fullness.  The results of this study showed that:

• High fiber meals decreased ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates hunger, and Peptide YY, a hormone that reduces appetite, responses.
• Despite the decrease in Peptide YY response, the production of this appetite suppressing hormone was prolonged by high fiber meals.
• Glucagon-like Peptide 1, a hormone that effects insulin and suppresses hunger, was reduced by the High Protein & High Fiber meal.

This new study suggests that dietary fiber might have more effects on appetite than by just adding bulk to the diet.  The results of this study and some previous studies show that soluble dietary fiber can alter hormones produced in the digestive tract that are involved with feelings of hunger.  The decrease in ghrelin secretion and the prolonged production of Peptide YY, suggest that dietary fiber might reduce appetite through effects on these hormones.  These effects further support the role of dietary fiber consumption as part of a healthy weight management program.  A free paper on dietary fiber and energy regulation is available if you want to read more.

Managing your weight with my easy plan can be a great way to include fiber as part of your diet.  My Slim and Beautiful milk protein shakes contain 3 grams (12% of the recommended daily value), while my Slim and Beautiful soy protein bars contain 5 grams of healthy fiber (20% of the daily value!). 

Diet and Lifestyle Factors Associated with Telomere Length

Telomeres are DNA sequences found at the ends of chromosomes.  Research has shown that telomere length appears to be associated with aging, such that shorter telomere lengths are associated with shorter life spans.  However, it is unclear whether telomere length is simply a sign of aging or whether the length of the telomere actually contributes to the aging process.  You can read more about the potential role of telomere length in this article.

A new study examined potential relationships between diet and lifestyle factors and telomere length in over 2,000 wome participating in the Nurses' Health Study.  Telomere length was measured in white blood cells from the study participants and correlated with diet and lifestyle factors assessed with a questionnaire.  The results of this study showed that:

• Higher levels of dietary fiber intake were associated with longer telomere length.  This was particularly evident for cereal fiber.
• Shorter telomeres were seen on average in women with higher consumption of linoleic acid, one of the polyunsaturated fats.
• Telomere length was shorter with increasing waist size.

Dietary fiber, fat consumption, and body composition have all been shown to be associated with various health benefits or risks.  Dietary fiber has been shown to have a variety of potential health benefits, so it is interesting to see that it is also associated with longer telomere length, a potential marker of longer life.  In contrast, excess body fat and consumption of some fats have been reported to be risk factors for various chronic health conditions.  Polyunsaturated fats are generally considered one of the healthier types of dietary fat; however, this research would suggest that there might be differences for the specific polyunsaturated fats.

Whether the impact of diet and lifestyle choices on healthy aging is due at least in part to telomere length will require additional research to determine.  Nonetheless, this study suggests that diet and lifestyle choices are modestly related to telomere length.  Overall, this study supports the concept that diet and lifestyle choices impact healthy aging and perhaps life span. 

Making healthier lifestyle choices should be an important part of each of our daily routines.  One such choice we can all make is to maintain a healthy body weight.  Following my easy diet plan is a simple way to do just that.