PRITIKIN ePERSPECTIVE - 08/16/06 Issue 78

The #1 Tip For Lowering Your Cholesterol

By Jeff Novick

Question: "I drink nonfat milk. I order egg-white omelets. I've sworn off butter and red meat... So why has my cholesterol gone up?"

Answer: "I wish I had a nickel for every time I've been asked this question," smiles Director of Nutrition Jeff Novick. "I ALWAYS answer it with another question: 'How much fiber are you eating every day?'

"Many people think they're doing everything right, and a lot of what they're doing is right. They're ordering egg-white omelettes and seafood. They've cut out butter, cheese, and beef. They drink nonfat milk. This is all fantastic.

"But there's one thing they haven't done, and it's the most important thing of all. They aren't eating enough fiber-rich foods. It's important because fiber lowers your cholesterol. It binds to the cholesterol in your body and pulls it out."

And that's only the beginning. Fiber also normalizes blood sugar levels, stabilizes insulin levels, helps you fill up on fewer calories so that you can lose weight more easily, helps prevent constipation, hemorrhoids, certain cancers, and much much more.

Optimally, say nutrition experts nationwide, we should be eating 35 to 50 grams of fiber every day. Americans average a mere 12 to 15 grams a day.

"To get your cholesterol down, your blood sugar down, your insulin levels down, and your weight down, you've got to start counting grams of dietary fiber," counsels dietitian Jeff Novick.

"In fact, counting dietary fiber is more important than counting anything else."

Where do you get fiber? Think soil. "You can't find a food that grows out of the ground that isn't fiber-rich," says Jeff. So, yes, we're talking fruits, vegetables, whole-grains like oats and barley, corn, potatoes, yams, and, the most fiber-packed food of all -- beans.

Your goal? 45 to 50 fiber grams every day.

How do you count fiber grams throughout the day? "It's simple, real simple," encourages Jeff. You don't even need to look at labels. Just remember:

• A half cup of most fiber-rich foods adds up to about 2.5 grams of fiber.
• A half cup of cooked beans adds up to about 5 to 6 grams.

When you sit down to eat, ask yourself:

"How am I going to get 12 to 16 grams of fiber in each meal?"

Take breakfast. If you order an egg-white omelette, are you getting much fiber?  Maybe 1 or 2 grams if you asked for an omelette filled with veggies. But here's a breakfast that does add up to 12 to 16 grams of fiber.

• A cup of hot oatmeal (5 grams of fiber)
• 2 cups of fresh fruit (5 grams)
• A slice of 100% whole-wheat toast (2.5 grams)

Moving onto lunch. Will a tuna sandwich (even one that's on whole-wheat bread) get you much fiber? Nope. But here's a lunch that will:

• A big green salad (5 grams of fiber)
• ½ cup of garbanzo beans on top of your salad (5 grams)
• Baked potato (5 grams)
• 1 cup of fresh fruit (5 grams)

Wow! On this lunch you even exceeded the 12 to 16 grams of fiber per meal. "That's perfectly fine," says Jeff. "The more fiber you eat, the lower your cholesterol will go, and the thinner you'll get."

Now for dinner. Sure, order your animal protein, if you'd like, but don't forget to surround that protein with lots of fiber, as in:

• Seafood (0 grams of fiber)
• Lentil soup (5 grams)
• Brown rice (2.5 grams)
• 2 servings of steamed vegetables (5 grams)
• Fresh berries for dessert (2.5 grams)

Your five best sources of fiber? "Think BYOBB, and don't get excited. I'm not talking alcohol," laughs Jeff. "B stands for beans, Y for yams, O for oats, B for barley, and B for berries.

"Good luck!" encourages Jeff. "And I guarantee you: If you get 12 to 16 grams of fiber from naturally-rich-in-fiber foods in every meal, you'll be calling me six months from now saying, 'JEFF, IT WORKED! MY CHOLESTEROL'S WAY DOWN. AND SO'S MY WEIGHT!'

"I'd love a nickel for every time I could hear that!"

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