Training & Nutrition - Confusing soluble fiber information

On my Clif Bar it says 6 grams of dietary fiber, that's 20% of recommended daily value. Some websites say all I need is 3 grams to lower cholesterol. So is that one Clif Bar enough or do I need like 33 grams of dietary fiber?

The best source I could find said this:

Various soluble fibers reduce total and LDL cholesterol by similar amounts. The effect is small within the practical range of intake. For example, 3 g soluble fiber from oats (3 servings of oatmeal, 28 g each) can decrease total and LDL cholesterol by approximately 0.13 mmol/L. Increasing soluble fiber can make only a small contribution to dietary therapy to lower cholesterol.

So, basically, it can help but it probaby won't make a big difference. What seems to make a bigger difference is a diet of more fruits and vegatables and whole grains rather than processed grains. And little processed sugar.

In other words, it's the refined sugar and grains that are more likely to be causing a problem.



http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9925120

websites say all I need is 3 grams to lower cholesterol.

Well maybe 3 additional grams will lower cholesterol...but if all you eat is 3 grams a day you will have some serious problems with um regularity. I hope you have a large stack of magazines in your bathroom.

15 grams of fiber is the recommended daily intake.

Well maybe 3 additional grams will lower cholesterol...but if all you eat is 3 grams a day you will have some serious problems with um regularity. I hope you have a large stack of magazines in your bathroom.

15 grams of fiber is the recommended daily intake.

That's way low.

The average american consumes 10-15 grams of fiber per day. The recommended amount for adults ranges from 25-35 grams, with different sources recommending different amounts.

It's not hard to get 30 mg/day if you eat a whole foods diet with lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. If you don't like "health food" eat more beans-- baked beans, chili, etc.

That's way low.

The average american consumes 10-15 grams of fiber per day. The recommended amount for adults ranges from 25-35 grams, with different sources recommending different amounts.

oops....you are right it should be 25 to 35 grams.....

The statement if you check is that it "may lower cholesterol" not “it will” I believe in the actual study people were eating allot of fruit and vegetables but the people at Metamucil found the simple conclusion profitable. If you want to lower your cholesterol eat more fruit and vegetables and less refined cho.

I'll just throw in that vegetables (and perhaps fruits) are largely better for you than grains, but if you're just looking for an easy way to add fiber, there are several good cereals that can add a -lot- of fiber to your diet. FiberOne is huge; All-Bran is great and even Raisin Bran has quite a bit. There are also some pretty tasty Metamucil wafers that taste like cookies and have I believe 6g dietary fiber, and off the top of my head I think 5g of that is soluble.

Yes but all those refined carbs will possible raise cholesterol, food industy's dirty little secret since packaging cho is very profitable.

http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-6-6/42376.html

Not the best ref but will do for now.

Best off eat fruits and veggies exchange that power bar "I have a friend who works for them who would kill me" for a nice fuji apple.

I'll just throw in that vegetables (and perhaps fruits) are largely better for you than grains, but if you're just looking for an easy way to add fiber, there are several good cereals that can add a -lot- of fiber to your diet. FiberOne is huge; All-Bran is great and even Raisin Bran has quite a bit. There are also some pretty tasty Metamucil wafers that taste like cookies and have I believe 6g dietary fiber, and off the top of my head I think 5g of that is soluble.

If you are getting fiber from grain or wafers, you need to make sure you get enough liquid. If you don't, you end up with a bunch of dry fiber in your system, which is not good.

The best source I could find said this:

Various soluble fibers reduce total and LDL cholesterol by similar amounts. The effect is small within the practical range of intake. For example, 3 g soluble fiber from oats (3 servings of oatmeal, 28 g each) can decrease total and LDL cholesterol by approximately 0.13 mmol/L. Increasing soluble fiber can make only a small contribution to dietary therapy to lower cholesterol.

That's 5mg/dl (what cholesterol is usually reported in) for only 3g (10% of the 30g suggested to reduce LDL) of soluble fiber. I'd call that significant, especially if the drop is linear with an increase in intake!

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=Abstract&list_uids=9925120

The abstract doesn't say over what time period they added this fiber, whether the subjects ate it once and then gave a blood sample, or whether they ate 3g daily for say 6-8 weeks. If 3g removes 5mg/dl every day, then that's 50mg/dl over 10 days. Obviously the liver manufactures LDL (and HDL) to make up for the loss in LDL, so it's important to track over some time period to find the new lower point of convergence.