Not All Fiber Works The Same

 Okay. This is going to get a little bit personal. Today, I am going to be talking about my fiber regimen. Not too personal but... real personal.

I told you recently about my need to change up my daily nutritional habits. My kidneys are being crazy and my energy is dropping more than usual. I have been advised to seriously up my fiber intake, lower my intake of preservatives, and drink SO much more water. I feel like I am participating in a water challenge with fiber thrown in for extra credit.

Before now, if I needed it, I would take an OTC stool softener - Dulcalax was my go-to - and that always worked. Eventually. I remember once taking one Dulcalax every eight hours for a couple of days with no result. Until there were results. Results of sudden and horrific proportions.  After that, I stuck to things like Benefiber and it's generic siblings and Psyllium supplements. Same result: they don't work until they suddenly do work too well. Or not, depending.

The past few days, I have been taking in nothing but vegetables (mostly tomato, avocado, onion, cabbage), water, and bread. Not just any bread though but only the most fiber-filled and nutritious kind. I've eaten whole-grain bread, seeded bread, sprouted grain, and sprouted seed bread. I even went near bankruptcy to buy a loaf of the famous Ezekiel bread. 

Here's the thing: not all fiber works the same. The stool softeners and the manufactured fiber supplements work slow and unpredictably. The fiber in the bread and the fiber in the vegetables... That is swift justice. Swift but not brutal.

Without going into more detail than necessary, I will just say that I can highly recommend the fiber found in food over the supplements and manufactured types. Results are more predictable and comfortable. And regular. Very regular.

Also, I feel better. My belly is a lot less bloated so my clothes fit better. I don't have that constant feeling of slight discomfort. My energy is not up as much as I would like but I think that might take more time.

I have learned that with taking in so much natural fiber, the real trick to results and comfort is to drink the water. Lots of water. It's as if the fiber is the wind-up and the water is the pitch. (Look at me talking in baseball lingo!)

Another benefit is that I am not eating as much food. I know that this is Fiber 101 because fiber is more filling than most other nutrients. Eating less means buying fewer groceries, That's awesome because I can only afford one loaf of Ezekiel bread every 3rd quarter of the fiscal year...

Do you know how thankful I am that my family is the best ever? They are getting me a bread machine for Christmas. The makers of Ezekiel bread (and Dave's Killer Bread) will not be seeing any more of my collected pennies once I get that machine. I love their concept and backstories (especially for Dave's), but I leave it to Gwen Paltrow and Oprah and friends to pick up the tab. I really don't see enough difference between Ezekiel Bread and some other choices to warrant spending all that extra moolah.

By the way, the Ezekiel bread is not bad but it's not as tasty (in my opinion) as some of the other grain bread. It's free of preservatives, which is a good thing, but that shortens the shelf-life. Also, I found it to be very dry. I can only eat it in nibbles or else I have to toast it. I keep it in the freezer and thaw it one piece at a time. I have to protect that investment.

I told you previously that I have found an affordable supplier of grains and seeds. I already found yeast in larger quantities so I think I can keep up this high fiber situation without going broke.

For anyone else looking for decent quality and nutritious bread, I can say (speaking with no credentials other than my taste buds and ability to read a label) that Aldi's Seedtastic and Ancient Grains breads are amazingly tasty.  They aren't cheap-cheap (around $3.25 to 3.85 a loaf, depending on the type), but they are so good. 

Ezekiel Bread
Ingredients

Again, I am no expert, so take everything I say the way you would an article in the Daily Mail. Do your own research. I have been checking info from papers/articles by dieticians and nutritionists (you know- doing my search-learning) and, so far, I think there are some rules of thumb to go by and some things I have learned:

• High fiber is best with proper water intake. I wonder if it isn't even troublesome to not drink enough water if you are doing a high-fiber diet.
• When choosing bread and cereals, etc, look for "sprouted" seeds and grains. I can't remember why this is even though I looked it up.
• Avoiding preservatives as much as possible is great.
• The first high-fiber day I had killed my cravings for "junk".
• I have been eating at a different pace (see below) than before doing high-fiber.

A typical day's meals for me prior to this was something like this:

• breakfast of coffee with creamer, white toasted bread with butter and jam.
• lunch of white bread (or Brioche, or thick Italian loaf) sandwich of chicken patty or deli turkey and something sweet like a honey bun
• snacks of honey bun, vanilla brioche loaf (Aldi's has the best), or some other sweet treat
• dinner or vegetables (maybe), fish or chicken of, if I'm lazy or tired, another sandwich.
• evening snack(s) PB&J sandwich or a bun or sweet bread and some hot tea with sweetened creamer.

A typical day recently:

• breakfast of coffee & creamer, toasted bread (seeded, sprouted or something like that) either dry or with butter
• lunch of sandwich of avocado, tomato, sweet onion, and maybe mini sweet peppers on seeded bread with mayo.
• snack of bread, toasted or not, buttered or not.
• dinner or baked fish or chicken with a side or avocado, tomatoes,onions seasoned with sweet and mild rice vinegar or just salt and pepper, a piece of bread - and you know what kind.
• evening snack of a banana or a couple of dates or a piece of bread (toasted or raw, buttered or not).

I am planning to make small batches of honey butter* to put on my bread (as a snack). I have not yet made the trendy "avocado toast" and I refuse to. 

It will be fun to do an update on how I feel after a longer period of eating fiber-filled foods on a regular basis. I promise, but right now, I have to go to the Ladies Room...

Peace

--Free