Level-Up Your Fiber Intake! (Without Difficulty Or Discomfort)

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Depending on the source (as in, the informational source, not the dietary source) we should be consuming up to 40g of fiber per day. The average American gets 16g per day.

  • By strategic inclusions and substitutions, it is very easy to get enough fiber without undue effort or discomfort. Today’s main feature gives some pointers!

• Not everyone wants to skip alcohol entirely, but we'll bet you'd like to skip the after-effects!

  • Today’s sponsor, ZBiotics, have a special pre-alcohol probiotic drink that was designed by a team of microbiologists to tackle exactly that.

Read on to learn about these things and more…

🌍 10ALMONDS APPROVED BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Fasting vs. Eating Less: What's the Difference, By Science? (12:49)

Logically, both reduce the body's metabolic load, so why is there such a big difference (almost opposite effects) in what the body does in response?

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

Time-restricted menu:

• 00:00 | History

• 02:46 | Hunger

• 04:59 | Grehlin

• 06:59 | Ketosis

• 10:03 | HGH

Prefer text? You might like our previous main feature:

Fasting Without Crashing? We sort the science from the hype!

Want to watch it, but not right now? Bookmark it for later 🔖

🫘 MAIN FEATURE

Why You’re Probably Not Getting Enough Fiber (And How To Fix It)

First things first… How much fiber should we be eating?

• The World Health Organization recommends we each get at least 25g of fiber per day:

  • The Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases

• A more recent meta-review of studies, involving thousands of people and decades of time, suggests 25–29g is ideal:

  • Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses

• The British Nutritional Foundation gives 30g as the figure:

  • 30 g of fibre a day: An achievable recommendation?

• The US National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine recommends 21g–38g per day, depending on age and sex:

  • NAS | Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, [and more]

• A large study last year gave 30–40g as the figure:

  • Therapeutic Benefits and Dietary Restrictions of Fiber Intake: A State-of-the-Art Review*

*This one is also a great read to understand more about the “why” of fiber

Meanwhile, the average American gets 16g of fiber per day.

So, how to get more fiber, without piling on too many carbs?

Foods that contain fiber generally contain carbs (there’s a limit to how much celery most people want to eat), so there are two key ideas here:

• Getting a good carb:fiber ratio

• Making substitutions that boost fiber without overdoing (or in some case, even changing) carbs

Meat → Lentils

Well-seasoned lentils can be used to replaced ground beef or similar. A cup of boiled lentils contains 18g of fiber, so you’re already outdoing the average American’s daily total.

Meat → Beans

Black beans are a top-tier option here (15g per cup, cooked weight), but many kinds of beans are great.

Chicken/Fish → Chickpeas

Yes, chicken/fish is already meat, but we’re making a case for chickpeas here. Cooked and seasoned appropriately, they do the job, and pack in 12g of fiber per cup. Also… Hummus!

Bonus: Hummus, eaten with celery sticks.

White pasta/bread → Wholewheat pasta/bread

This is one where “moderation is key”, but if you’re going to eat pasta/bread, then wholewheat is the way to go. Fiber amounts vary, so read labels, but it will always have far more than white.

Processed salty snacks → Almonds and other nuts

Nuts in general are great, but almonds are top-tier for fiber, amongst other things. A 40g handful of almonds contains about 10g of fiber.

Starchy vegetables → Non-starchy vegetables

Potatoes, parsnips, and their friends have their place. But they cannot compete with broccoli, peas, cabbage, and other non-starchy vegetables for fiber content.

Bonus: if you’re going to have starchy vegetables though, leave the skins on!

Fruit juice → Fruit

Fruit juice has had most, if not all, of its fiber removed. Eat an actual juicy fruit, instead. Apples and bananas are great options; berries such as blackberries and raspberries are even better (at around 8g per cup, compared to the 5g or so depending on the size of an apple/banana)

Processed cereals → Oats

5g fiber per cup. Enough said.

Summary

Far from being a Herculean task, getting >30g of fiber per day can be easily accomplished by a lentil ragù with wholewheat pasta.

If your breakfast is overnight oats with fruit and some chopped almonds, you can make it to >20g already by the time you’ve finished your first meal of the day.

Enjoy!

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Make ZBiotics the first drink of the night

Not everyone wants to skip alcohol entirely, but we'll bet you'd like to skip the after-effects!

ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic Drink was designed by a team of microbiologists to tackle exactly that. Here's how it works:

When you drink, alcohol produces acetaldehyde, a by-product which is not your friend in the morning. But, when you have a ZBiotics Pre-Alcohol Probiotic before your first alcoholic beverage, it breaks down the acetaldehyde while you drink. Just one small bottle lasts 18 hours, so you can confidently enjoy your night without worrying about missing your plans tomorrow.

Want to know more? Click here to visit their site, and then on Science > How It Works > Full Technology Section

(you can learn more about their patented bioengineering technology and see their lead microbiologists)

Whether for yourself or perhaps as a gift for family members in preparation for festivities, this is definitely a great "enjoy, but make it responsible" option!

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

🌍 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• One death, 10 hospitalizations in listeria outbreak tied to peaches, plums

• High-fiber food advice welcomed by older people, finds study

• Nutrition plays a pivotal role in diabetes and mental health

• Is Novavax, the latecomer COVID vaccine, worth the wait?

• Over 1,100 experts boycott medical journal for publishing unethical animal experiments

• Sexual minority youth more likely to experience homelessness

• Immunotherapy research shows potential to extend healthy lifespan of humans

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Walk Yourself Happy: Find your path to health and healing in nature – by Dr. Julia Bradbury

Notwithstanding her (honorary) doctorate, Dr. Bradbury is not, in fact, a scientist. But...

• She has a lot of experience walking all around the world, and her walking habit has seen her through all manner of things, from stress and anxiety to cancer and grief and more.

• She does, throughout this book, consult many scientists and other experts (indeed, some we've featured here before at 10almonds), so we still get quite a dose of science too.

The writing style of this book is... Compelling. Honestly, the biggest initial barrier to you getting out of the door will be putting this book down first. If you have good self-discipline, you might make it last longer by treating yourself to a chapter per day 😉

Bottom line: you probably don't need this book to know how to go for a walk, but it will motivate, inspire, and even inform you of how to get the most out of it. Treat yourself!

Click here to check out Walk Yourself Happy, and prepare for a new healthy habit!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend of wellness,

The 10almonds Team