Dr. Nate's Plate: Benefits of eating more fiber

[00:00:00]We all know we should eat more fiber, but what does it actually do for us? Dr. Ian Wood is here with three big reasons fiber deserves more love.

[00:00:10]>> All right.

[00:00:10]>> Yes, have you heard of this fiber maxing trend?

[00:00:12]>> have.

[00:00:13]>> Yes, we were just >> I kind of love saying fiber maxing.

[00:00:15]>> anything maxing.

[00:00:16]>> Maxing.

[00:00:17]>> Yeah, yeah, it's it's getting out of hand, don't you think?

[00:00:19]>> It's out of hand.

[00:00:19]>> I knew you would >> said Ian and I were anchor maxing and she was like, "No, we're not."

[00:00:23]>> Ah, I love that. I love that, yes. So, today we're going to decide whether or not we want to fiber max compared to some of these other maxing trends we can actually get behind this one.

[00:00:31]>> Okay.

[00:00:32]>> So, it's basically just saying fiber is good for us, we should eat more of it, and that I agree with.

[00:00:36]>> Embrace it.

[00:00:36]>> Embrace it. So, 95% of us don't get enough fiber. I'm pretty convinced of that.

[00:00:40]>> 95? That's that's a high.

[00:00:42]>> So, how much fiber should we have every day?

[00:00:44]>> I know you don't like these grams, but the number per day is for women 25 g per day or for men 38.

[00:00:50]>> What does that look like?

[00:00:51]>> That's that's what a gram look I think that that's kind of what a gram looks like.

[00:00:54]>> Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is roughly uh maybe a little bigger, but it's really not that much.

[00:00:57]>> Right.

[00:00:59]>> But, if you are eating mostly unproc- ultra-processed foods >> Okay.

[00:01:02]>> red meat and dairy, you know, none of that has fiber. Only plants have fiber.

[00:01:06]So, if you remember nothing else, only plants have fiber.

[00:01:08]>> Okay, so none of those things.

[00:01:09]>> Does a lot for us, yep. So, this is >> [laughter] >> exactly. Fiber does a lot for us. Number one, it keeps us full.

[00:01:15]>> Yeah.

[00:01:16]>> And the reason for this is it's not absorbed actually by our body, right?

[00:01:19]So, this is just kind of passes through us, fiber. So, this is 100 calories worth of oil, you can see there, that's not much, that's less than a tablespoon.

[00:01:27]This is 100 calories of cucumber.

[00:01:29]>> That's a lot.

[00:01:30]>> [laughter] >> My granddaughter will eat those raw all the time.

[00:01:33]>> Isn't that strange?

[00:01:34]>> I mean that's >> That's right, you say she just kind of >> crunchy and refreshing. I like it with some hummus, right? So, you're probably not going to eat 10 cucumbers, but it just shows you the difference in volume here.

[00:01:42]>> If you really want them.

[00:01:43]>> Yeah, I say go for it, right? But, it takes up that room in your stomach, moves through your digestive tract, keeps you fuller longer. So, if you're looking to lose some weight or maintain your weight, fiber is very helpful.

[00:01:52]>> Go for it. Plate cukes.

[00:01:53]>> The other thing is everyone's always talking about the gut microbiome, right?

[00:01:57]So, we hear about things that are fermented like yogurt, like this kimchi here, and those contain those actual bacteria, the probiotics. But, fiber, what it does is it feeds those probiotics. So, like I said, fiber not absorbed by our digestive system, so it will goes all the way through our body to our colon. That's where these bacteria live, and it feeds those bacteria, and it specifically feeds the healthy bacteria. So, it explains why it's >> So, then what happens when it's feeding this healthy bacteria?

[00:02:21]>> Then those bacteria grow grow grow.

[00:02:24]>> [laughter] >> They say, "Man, this >> Is that cucumber?

[00:02:26]>> What is in that?

[00:02:26]>> Kimchi delicious, right? So, this is a Korean fermented cabbage.

[00:02:30]>> Oh, okay.

[00:02:31]>> Um but, lots of other flavors in there.

[00:02:32]It's spicy. I got the mild one, but my chef says really good.

[00:02:35]>> Perfect. And then finally >> And then finally, fiber is really good at blunting blood sugar spikes. So, for instance, if you are to drink this glass of orange juice, your blood sugar is going to spike, right? But, if you were to eat the orange instead, your blood your blood sugar will not spike as much, and that's because of the fiber. Basically, it gets in the way. If you just drink this sugar, your body's like, "Okay, good to go." Sucks up all that sugar into your blood. But, if you have this orange with the fiber, the fiber gets in the way.

[00:03:00]It's trying to find that sugar, but it has to go through all this fiber that it's not absorbed >> So, fruits and vegetables.

[00:03:05]>> Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, all plants.

[00:03:10]>> Okay.

[00:03:10]>> If they're super >> This is I always learn something when we do these.

[00:03:13]>> We do.

[00:03:14]>> And then do we practice it?

[00:03:15]>> Sometimes we don't.

[00:03:16]>> Sometimes.

[00:03:17]>> If you eat >> [laughter] >> If you eat even 5 more grams of fiber today, I'll be happy with that.

[00:03:20]>> Thank you so >> We're all working on it, my friend.

[00:03:22]>> Appreciate it. Well done. Dr. Nate Wood, always with the good advice.