Why fiber is critical to your health, and how to get more of it into your diet

Of all the components that make up our food, fiber might be the least glamorous. There's nothing sexy about fiber, which is best known for ensuring you're no stranger to the washroom.

But while vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fats and phytochemicals are hogging the nutritional spotlight these days, bulking up your diet with fiber, also known as roughage, should be a top priority if you're committed to healthy eating. That's because fiber, an indigestible carbohydrate found in the cell walls of plants, has proven to be a potent ally in the fight against chronic diseases such as:

• colon cancer (by sweeping the intestinal wall clean of carcinogens)
• diabetes (by regulating blood sugar levels)
• heart disease (by reducing blood cholesterol)
• stroke (by lowering blood pressure).

And by making food more filling, fiber is even good at keeping our waistlines in check. Too bad the average American is lucky to be eating even half the fiber needed each day to fully reap these healthy rewards. According to the Institute of Medicine, the recommended daily intake for fiber for adults 50 years and younger is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. For men and women over 50 the recommended daily fiber intake is 30 grams per day for men and 21 grams per day for women.

Eating more fruits, vegetables and whole grains are no-brainers when it comes to eating more fiber. But to reach these lofty intake numbers you might need to be a little more creative. Here are eight not-so-rough ways to sneak more fiber into your everyday diet. Note that when increasing your fiber intake make sure to drink plenty of water to ease digestion.

Bowled over

Start your day off with a high-fiber cereal. Look for cereals with at least five grams of fiber per serving and top your bowl with berries, ground flaxseed and walnuts for even more roughage.

A better grain

When it comes to breads, crackers, waffles and other tasty grain products, make sure they really are 100 percent whole grain. Doing so will give you a couple of extra grams of grit. If you see "enriched flour" or "wheat flour" as the first ingredient you know you have a product made with fiber-poor white flour.

Compare brands

Read food labels carefully to find higher fiber choices. Some food manufacturers are doing their best to make it easy for us to reach our fiber requirements.

Play the skins game

The next time you're serving up a potato beside your sirloin don't leave the skin behind for the scrap bin. Potato skins (thoroughly washed), as is the case with edible jackets on other vegetables and fruits, are a simple way to reel in more roughage.

Pass the beans

Beans and lentils are nature's perfect foods. Loaded with vitamins and minerals and, yes, fiber, they should be more noticeable in our shopping carts. But don't feel that you have to go through the hassle of soaking and cooking the dried versions. Canned beans are a high-fiber food that can easily be tossed into chilies, casseroles, pasta sauces and canned soups.

Cold comfort

Even the most diehard nutritional nannies among us don't always have time to wash and cut up the necessary ingredients for a dinner salad. Keep a bag or two of frozen vegetables on hand to add a fiber boost to stir-fry, pasta sauce or fajitas. Frozen fruits are perfect for those post-workout smoothies. Most frozen produce is flash frozen on site, which preserves most of their excellent vitamins and minerals.

Jazz up your salad

A vegetable salad is already a fiber heavyweight, but to crown it champion mix in some fiber-rich foods such as sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, avocados and mandarin oranges. You'll not only bulk up your plate, you will give new life to what can be a dull

food group.

Visit the supplement aisle

Fiber supplements have come a long way since what amounted to gunk in a glass. Some are so sneaky that you can't even taste or see the fiber. If you think you are coming up a little short in the fiber department, a supplement can help bridge the gap.

Matthew Kadey is a dietitian, personal trainer and freelance writer based in Toronto.