Smart Choices
by Connie Lehman, dietician at Topeka Pharmacy
Fiber Facts:
How Good Food Keeps You Healthy
D
ietary fiber provides many
health benefits. Fiber is another word for the portion
of the food we eat that we
cannot digest. Dietary fiber is generally divided into two groups: soluble
and insoluble. Each type works to
promote health in a different way,
outlined below.
Insoluble fiber increases stool size
and so keeps us feeling well by creating regular bowel movements. Getting
enough fiber is often prescribed to
reduce the problems of constipation,
and to prevent the development of
hemorrhoids & diverticulitis.
Foods high in insoluble fiber
include wheat bran and whole wheat,
brown rice, barley, seeds and most
vegetables and fruits.
Soluble fiber decreases cholesterol
levels and so helps decrease the risk of
heart disease. Soluble fiber forms a gel
with water and slows digestion. This
helps also with weight loss, as people
feel more full after high fiber meals. In
addition, soluble fiber helps with diabetes, by slowing the rate blood sugar
levels rise after a meal.
Foods high in soluble fiber include
oats and oat bran, dried cooked beans
& lentils, nuts, flaxseed, apples, blueberries, oranges and
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other fruits and vegetables.
How much fiber you need: Most
of us in America get less than half
the fiber we need. Women should be
getting 21-25 gm daily and men 3038gm. How do you go about getting
more fiber?
• Eat the recommended 5 – 9 servings
of fruits and vegetables daily.
• Make sure your cereal is high
fiber, providing at least 4-5 gm
per serving.
• Switch your bread & pasta to whole
grain. Read the 1st ingredient- it
should list “whole wheat flour” or
another whole grain. The amount
of dietary fiber per serving should
be at least 2gm.
What about supplements? It
has been shown that whole food is the
best way to get fiber. Changing your
diet to include more fruits, vegetables
and whole grains is something almost
all Americans can benefit from, for
multiple reasons. If you feel you would
like to include supplements, speak with
your doctor or dietician about which
ones may be most helpful, to match
the results you are looking for with the
type of fiber in the supplement.
For more information, read labels.
If the food has a label, dietary fiber
will usually be listed. For foods without labels, like fruits and vegetables,
a table is helpful. A table could not fit
in this column but is available at the
pharmacy. Call or stop by and we will
be glad to get a copy to you!
Westview Jr/Sr High
Quarter 1 • Honor Roll
Grade 7
Braydon Avery, Ryan Barker, Elizabeth
Barkes, Joanna Bontrager, Michael S.
Bontrager, Shianna Cook-Smith, Hayley
Courtney, Cameron Drake, Sadie Eash,
Michelle Frey, Joel Fry, Dexter Hochstetler, Kaitlin Hogan, Dale Hostetler, Nikita Hunt, Joshua Hunter, Allison Janik,
Madison Jantzi, Hunter Klein, Curtis
Lambright, Erik Lehman, Regina Lehman,
Lynn Mast, Denise Miller, James Miller,
Joshua Miller, Loranna Miller, Marcus
Dean Miller, Michele Miller, Seth Miller,
Steven Miller, Travis Miller, Vonda Miller,
Eugene Mishler, Jairo Mojica, Jacqueline
Moreno, Joseph Morrison, Matthew Mullett, Gage Newcomer, Kayli Prough, Cameron Reynolds, Mohamed Saleh, Sammy
Salim, Kevin Schwartz, Nathan Schwartz,
Braden Shaffer, Darin Slabach, Damon
Strong, Janae Stutzman, Matthew Troyer,
Iris Uresti, Kenton Weaver, Brooke Whitaker, Adrianna Wilson, Josiah Wingard,
Amy Yoder, Bradi Yoder, Dale Lynn Yoder,
Jason Yoder, Kara Yoder, Lawton Yoder,
Marcus Dean Yoder, and Sierra Yoder.
Grade 8
Dorene Bontrager, Julie Bontrager, Martha Bontrager, Regina Bontrager, Dale
Borntreger, Andrew Brandenberger, Zaccary Buckley, Derek Chupp, Gunnar Eagleson, Jonathan Fennell, Atlee Frain, Kathryn Franklin, Lyndon Fry, Myron Graber,
Kelly Hahn, Joel Hostetler, Hollie Klein,
Aaron Lambright, Larry Lehman, Desiree
Lippincott, Dylan Mast, Amy Miller, Janice Miller, Joan Miller, Kevin D. Miller,
Stephen Miller, TerriAnna Mishler, DaKota Morrison, Matthew O’Donnell, Taryn
Pruitt, Braden Reynolds, Rachel Schlabach, Nathan Schrock, Lavon Schwartz,
Valerie Sisco, Matthew Troyer, Kaitlin
Whitaker, Matthew Wingard, Elmer Yoder, Jason Yoder, and Joseph Yoder.
Grade 9
Hanna Bontrager, Kasey Bontrager, Miceala Garten, Makai Gingerich, Christopher Janik, Thomas Jeffries, Derrike
Johns, Kaylee Kauffman, Lincoln McDonald, Lindon McDonald, Brock Miller, Kade
Miller, Kara Miller, Kaylene Miller, Kyle
Miller, Kahlyn Pettit, Zachary Schrock,
Megan Steider, Benson Stoltzfus, Andrea
continued on next page
The Hometown Treasure · December ‘12 · pg 7