By Carol Smith

You’ve heard about the benefits of fiber in diet. You might also know that most older adults don’t get enough fiber. In fact, most people ignore fiber until they have problems with constipation. That ailment is usually the motivator for people to explore a good source of fiber.

A high fiber diet does much more than promote bowel movements. In fact, research indicates that the benefits of fiber in diet may be a lower risk of death from heart disease, infectious and respiratory disease. The National Cancer Institute found that men who consumed 30 grams of fiber per day and women who had 26 daily grams of fiber were less likely to die from any cause. The result is a high fiber diet is associated with a decreased likelihood of death.

It’s not clear why fiber lowers the risk of death. Scientists believe it could be related to the fact that fiber promotes bowel movements, lowers cholesterol and regulates sugar levels. It’s also believe that fiber may bind to cancer-causing agents which are then expelled from the body.

It is recommended that women have 25 grams of fiber per day and men 38 grams. The average American only gets about 15 daily grams of fiber. The key to a high fiber diet is eating vegetables, fruits and grains every day.

Foods that are a good source of fiber are vegetables, fruits like apples, oranges, pears, peaches, grapes, and prunes, whole wheat and whole grains, brown rice, oatmeal and seeds.

An example of a diet that would include 25 grams of fiber per day could consist of: one slice of whole wheat bread with 1.9 grams of fiber, 1 ounce of raisin bran cereal with 3.4 grams, 1 apple with peel with 3.3 grams, one banana, 3.1 grams, ½ cup of corn with 3.2 grams, ½ cup peas with 4.4 grams and ½ cup of baked beans with 5.2 grams. The benefits of fiber in diet are known. The trick is to eat more grams of fiber per day.

Also, read how much water you should drink on a high fiber diet.