When it comes to food, protein gets a lot of hype. The macronutrient, responsible for things like building and repairing muscles, and boosting metabolism, has been added to everything from pancakes and popcorn to ice cream and coffee. (Morning muscle milk, anyone?)
Though protein is a major player for the human diet, most of us are already eating plenty of it.
(Adults in the U.S. are consuming about 20 percent more protein than what’s recommended.)
Since we all know how important it is in our diets, it’s time to shift some attention to another nutrient that could use some love: fiber.
Most people don’t get enough fiber, a type of carbohydrate found mainly in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds.
According to national health recommendations, women and men under 50 years old should be consuming 25 and 38 grams of fiber daily, respectively. But in reality, we average only about 16 grams per day. This is a big problem, because fiber is indispensable to optimal wellness.
To help you boost your fiber intake, we turned to four Philly food experts — from dietitians to a lifestyle medicine doc — for their ideas about how to get more of this vital nutrient into our diet.
1. Eat the skin of your vegetables. You can boost your fiber intake by consuming the skin on vegetables like cucumbers, potatoes, and zucchini, says Charlie Seltzer , a Center City-based doctor with certs in obesity medicine and internal medicine. Up to 31 percent of these veggies’ total amount of fiber are found in the skin!
3. Lean on beans and legumes. A half-cup of beans has about one-fourth of the recommended daily amount of fiber, says Isabel Vasquez Larson, lead dietitian at Your Latina Nutrition , a Philly nutrition service. Shank adds that incorporating beans (like black, kidney, and pinto) and legumes (think lentils, edamame, and chickpeas) into your favorite dishes (tacos, salads, and chili) and adding them to pastas and pizza crusts are easy ways to make a big impact.
Bonus: Beans and legumes are high in protein, so they pack a double punch.
Find other details related to this topic: Visit website
