Health Body

In our mad New Year's rush to lose holiday pounds, we often forget an important key to natural weight management - fiber.

This vital dietary component keeps us from over-eating and is low in calories. The Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation reports that boosting your daily intake of fiber and whole grains by doing something as simple as adding a couple of slices of whole wheat toast and a serving of high fiber cereal to your diet can help cut your risk of obesity and may even aid weight loss.

Refined grains, such as white flour have been processed to remove the (fiber) of the whole grain, with the result that they are quickly digested and therefore, can leave us hungrier than if we ate the whole-grain (version), which increases the likelihood of overeating. The Foundation quotes a landmark study of nearly 75,000 nurses aged 38 to 63 years, in which women who consumed more fiber had half (49 per cent) the obesity risk of those who consumed less fiber.

Five Ways to Bulk Up

- Replace potato chips with popcorn or tortilla chips -- yellow corn is higher in fiber and has natural laxative effects.

- Keep a bowl of roasted almonds and sunflower seeds on hand; they are high in fiber and healthy fats.

- Blend cooked fiber-rich cauliflower into your mashed potatoes -- do it well and no one will be the wiser.

- Add ground flax seeds to breakfast cereals and smoothies.

- Replace half the butter in cookie recipes with apple sauce; think low-fat and high-fibre.

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