Class Time: Nutrition 101

You’ve maybe seen by now that I really push fiber.  Why?  What exactly is it?  What does it do in the body?

Think of a puzzle: a child’s 4-piece puzzle is really easy to take apart and is done in seconds.  This is how our body views sugar and simple carbohydrates- white bread, white rice, white pasta, chips, pretzels, cookies, bagels, etc.

Now a more complex 500-piece puzzle (the kind that my Grandma works on for weeks) would require a longer amount of time to take apart.  Same goes for complex carbohydrates: beans (legumes), “starchy” vegetables (corn, squash, carrots, etc), and whole grain breads and cereal products.  Part of what makes them “complex” is that they contain fiber.

A kernel of grain has three components: bran, wrapped around the outside, germ (nutrition nugget for the growing wheat seed itself), and endosperm.  Emily Levenson has a great diagram on her blog.  When typical flour is processed, the bran and germ are removed, and the plain endosperm is ground up.  You might have noticed that on your sack of flour at home it says “enriched”- it’s a red flag that so many nutrients are lost in the processing step that they have to add back vitamins such as niacin and riboflavin.  When you choose whole grain flour and whole grain products, they have all the parts of the grain ground up.

Back to fiber- fiber is amazing.  Constipated?  Try fiber.  Loose stools?  Try fiber.  Fiber acts in two ways: it’s very “grabby” and as it moved through your gut, it scrapes off all the dead gunk that accumulates in the lining of your intestines.  It also mixes with water in your gut to form a gel to keep things moving smoothly.  So not only does fiber make you a super pooper, but because it takes longer to digest, it keeps you feeling fuller for longer.  Win-win!