FIBER UPDATE

Adequate fibre in your diet is essential for good health. But do we ge t enough? In fact, the majority of Canadians do not consume enough fib re to meet the generally accepted recommendation of 20-35 grams/day. A nd it is possible that most of us don't even realize that we are not g etting the fibre we need. This paper reviews the current research on d ietary fibre and health: Fibre and regularity Fiber and cancer Fibre a nd heart disease, diabetes and obesity Fibre recommendations for adult s Key considerations in increasing fibre intake The last page offers p ractical information on fibre, written for the consumer. Three sample breakfast menus are suggested, all providing 10-15 g dietary fibre and less than 10 grams of fat. We invite you to use this page as handout in your consumer and patient education programs. The colours have been chosen so that the page will photocopy well on most copy machines.