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So if you are like many people today, you slave away on the treadmill, you sweat it out in step class, you watch your calories and fat grams, but still you fail to win the battle of the bulge. What’s missing in our regime, and what can we do to keep our bellies flat and our weight in check?

Let me ask you a question. How much fiber do you eat everyday? Despite the fact that high fiber diets are encouraged by the American Dietetic Association, The National Institutes of Health and most cardiovascular specialists, the average American consumes less than the 20-35 grams per day that is recommended. In fact, to the disappointment of dietary experts many of us get about half of that.

Why is this? Part of it is blamed on the Standard American Diet, which is low in fiber and high in processed grains and fats. On the other hand, many of us are making an effort to eat more fresh foods. Despite this, there is still a lingering problem with low fiber in the diet. Perhaps the reason is because high fiber diets are shunned due to fear of increased gas and bloating or bowel disturbance. Luckily, when followed appropriately, a high fiber diet doesn’t have to mean flatulence! In fact, eating fiber will help regulate your bowel, assist normal detoxification processes, and even encourage healthy weight maintenance.

You can minimize gas and bloating by adding additional fiber to your diet slowly. This is particularly important if your diet has been deficient in the past. Individuals can also use a digestive enzyme supplement to support digestion. Look for the following ingredients in your digestive enzyme formula: Amylase for starch digestion, alpha-galactosidase for the sugars found in beans and legumes, and cellulase that can assist with vegetable fiber.

The good news is that fiber not only fills up your stomach, promoting a natural feeling of fullness, but it also works on a hormonal level, to gently address the appetite and promote less snacking throughout the day. In a new best-selling book, The Fiber35 Diet, Brenda Watson, a digestive care specialist and nutritional consultant shares that fiber is key to maintaining a healthy weight, and even promotes healthy weight loss due to the release of a hormone called CCK. CCK is short for ‘cholecystokinin’, a hormone produced in the small intestine which promotes feelings of satiety.

Ms. Watson explains that this hormone also stimulates bile release from the gallbladder, and pancreatic enzyme release from the pancreas. By assisting the body to digest proteins and fats, CCK has been shown to be a key player in the digestive process. The fact that it can suppress hunger, however, makes it of importance to dieters.

In studies conducted by researchers at the Department of Human Nutrition and Food Science at the University of Kiel in Germany, fiber-rich foods will naturally cause your body to eliminate excess calories in your stool. This ‘fiber flush’ effect means that for every gram of fiber you eat you eliminate about seven calories. So if you eat 35 grams of fiber per day, you can simply flush away as much as 245 calories per day, making good headway toward a flat belly.

So the next time you ask yourself, “What can I do to finally win my fight against fat?” Remind yourself about fiber, and pick up some fresh produce and whole grain foods for dinner.