Roundtable Reaffirms Need for Increased Fiber in American Diet

by | Jul 10, 2012 | 2012, Alternative Therapies, Fiber

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. This article offers solutions for adding dietary fiber to our low-fiber American diet  and emphasizes the utilization of high fiber whole grains as a cost-effective means of filling the fiber gap.

A number of health benefits result from fiber intake, including healthy digestion, maintaining healthy levels of total and LDL cholesterol, blood sugar and insulin levels, and helping maintain a healthy weight by enhancing feelings of fullness (satiety) (1,2,3). In children, increased fiber intake has been found to improve diet quality and decrease their risk for becoming overweight or obese (4,5).

Despite these health benefits, less than 3% of Americans get enough fiber (6). With one in three Americans classified as obese, the medical costs of obesity totaled $147 billion in 2008, with obese patients costing $1,429 more per person than those of normal weight (7). Now a new roundtable discussion (8) of nutrition experts from around the country:

  • Roger Clemens – Department of Pharmacy, University of Southern California.
  • Sibylle Kranz – Department of Nutrition Science, Purdue University.
  • Amy R. Mobley – Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Connecticut.
  • Theresa A. Nicklas – Baylor College of Medicine, USDA/ARS Children’s Nutrition Research Center.
  • Mary Pat Raimondi – Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
  • Judith C. Rodriguez – Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of North Florida, Jacksonville, FL.
  • Joanne L. Slavin – Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota has put a more intense focus on the need to increase fiber intake among Americans.

In their discussions entitled “Filling America’s Fiber Gap: Probing Realistic Solutions”, the researchers agreed that fruit, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains are the foods that can best help Americans meet the Institute of Medicine’s fiber recommendations of 19-38 grams per day (9). The U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services’ recommendation of 13 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (10) would satisfy 63% of fiber needs, with one serving of fruit (1/2 cup) providing 1.1 grams of fiber and one serving (1/2 cup) of dark green vegetables providing 2.1 grams of fiber (11).

The researchers stated that whole grains offer the most help in meeting the recommended fiber intake.  Whole grains have more fiber per serving than fruits and vegetables (2.5-4.9 grams per 1-ounce serving), although 99% of Americans do not meet the requirements for whole grain intake (12).

The researchers also looked at obstacles that prevent Americans from getting enough fiber.  Perhaps the #1 barrier was how foods are labeled and whether they are really “good” sources of fiber (more than 1 gram of fiber per serving for fruits and vegetables and more than 3 grams of fiber per serving for grain-based foods). The average American gets 13.8 grams of fiber per day that come primarily from 25 different food items that include vegetables, sandwiches, fruit, ready-to-eat cereals, and potatoes (13). Unfortunately, although many of these 25 foods may have enough fiber, they also contain much higher levels of calories due to other additives and sugar. As a result, foods labeled a “good” source of fiber may also contain excessive amounts of calories.

Another obstacle has been the emergence of low carb diets, which prevent adequate fiber intake. This can be especially problematic in weight loss, as it is believed that at least 24 grams of fiber per day are needed to help with proper weight loss (14).

For the researchers, “There was consensus among roundtable participants that grain foods offer a unique opportunity to help Americans increase their fiber intakes” and that “making simple changes to choose grain foods with a good or excellent source of fiber may be the most realistic…way to help Americans make immediate progress toward filling the fiber intake gap while staying within energy needs.”

Source: Clemens, Roger, Sibylle Kranz, Amy R. Mobley, Theresa A. Nicklas, Mary Pat Raimondi, Judith C. Rodriguez, Joanne L. Slavin, and Hope Warshaw. “Filling America’s fiber intake gap: summary of a roundtable to probe realistic solutions with a focus on grain-based foods.” The Journal of nutrition 142, no. 7 (2012): 1390S-1401S. 

© 2012 American Society for Nutrition

Posted July 10, 2012. 

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Hauppauge, NY.  You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.PitchingDoc.com

References:

  1. Howlett JF.  The definition of dietary fiber—discussions at the Ninth Vahouny Fiber Symposium: building scientific agreement. Food Nutr Res. 2010;54: 5750.
  2.  Anderson JW.  Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutr Rev. 2009;67:188–205.
  3. Slavin JL. Position of the American Dietetic Association: health implications of dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:1716–31.
  4. Kranz S.  Dietary fiber intake by American preschoolers is associated with more nutrient-dense diets. J Am Diet Assoc. 2005;105:221–5.
  5. Kranz S, Mahood LJ, Wagstaff DA. Diagnostic criteria patterns of U.S. children with metabolic syndrome: NHANES 1999–2002. Nutr J. 2007; 6:38–46.
  6. Agricultural Research Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dietary fiber (g): usual intakes from food and water, 2003–2006, compared to adequate intakes. What we eat in America, NHANES 2003–2006.
  7. Obesity data available from the CDC website.
  8. Clemens R.  Filling America’s Fiber Intake Gap: Summary of a Roundtable to Probe Realistic Solutions with a Focus on Grain-Based Foods. J. Nutr. 2012; 142: 1390S–1401S.
  9. U.S. Department of Agriculture; Agricultural Research Service.What we eat in America: nutrient intakes from food by gender and age. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007–2008.
  10. 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.
  11. Mean fiber reflects fiber amounts of the food group or subgroup composite, a representation of the foods contained in the group in amounts that correspond to relative consumption. Fiber data derived from USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 17.]
  12. Krebs-Smith SM, Guenther PM, Subar AF, Kirkpatrick SI, Dodd KW. Americans do not meet federal dietary recommendations. J Nutr. 2010; 140:1832–8.
  13. Hornick B, Liska D, Birkett A. The fiber deficit—part II: consumer misperceptions about whole grains and fiber: a call for improving whole grain labeling and education. Nutr Today. 2012;47:104–9.
  14. Franz MJ. Evidence for MNT for type 1 and type 2 diabetes in adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1852–89.