Only 5% Of Americans Eat Enough Fiber

Daniel 1:11-16, “Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou seest, deal with thy servants. So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.”

I am so glad that God put this helpful information in the Holy Bible. Daniel had been taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon in 586 BC. This was God's judgment upon the southern kingdom of Israel for their failure to keep the Sabbath Day for 490 years. God punished them with Babylonian captivity, one year for every seven years that they didn't observe the Sabbath Day.

While in Captivity, Daniel was fed junk food, and he detested it. So Daniel asked the eunuch Melzar to please try something new. Daniel suggested feeding the men under his supervision and care pulse (Daniel 1:12). What is pulse? Pulse is seeds, beans and lentils. Pulse is edible seeds of various pod-bearing plants. But Daniel also suggested a 10-day trial for the pulse diet. That is so encouraging to me, because it shows how quickly we can turn our health around by simply changing our diet. Yes, dear reader, you can feel 100% better by simply eating healthier foods and drinking more water.

This morning when I woke up, I started my day by thanking God for another day, and I told the Lord that I loved Him. I then made a smoothie. I highly recommend that you buy a Nutri-Ninja if you don't have one. I bought my first one from Amazon.com, but then it burned out when one of two legs of power went out to the house (a broken tree branch feel on it and knocked the line down), and then back-fed through the circuitry and blew my mixer out. So I bought my second Nutri-Ninja from Walmart.

Today I put about 4 Tablespoons of ground flax seeds, half of a small tray of blackberries, about a dozen strawberries, some granola, ice and water. Then I ate a bowl of Great Grains cereal with some whole milk. That was my breakfast. By eating that way each day, I get my daily fiber. For lunch I ate some mixed vegetables that I bought in a bag at Walmart. They have several different varieties of vegetables in seasoned sauce. Yummy!

It is important for your long term health that you eat enough fiber every day. All kinds of beans are awesome to get enough fiber. Just one can of any type of beans provides 100% of the recommended daily amount (RDA) of fiber.

According to Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, here are the health benefits of fiber...

Benefits of a high-fiber diet

A high-fiber diet:

1. Normalizes bowel movements. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. A bulky stool is easier to pass, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have loose, watery stools, fiber may help to solidify the stool because it absorbs water and adds bulk to stool.
2. Helps maintain bowel health. A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of developing hemorrhoids and small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease). Studies have also found that a high-fiber diet likely lowers the risk of colorectal cancer. Some fiber is fermented in the colon. Researchers are looking at how this may play a role in preventing diseases of the colon.
3. Lowers cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or "bad," cholesterol levels. Studies also have shown that high-fiber foods may have other heart-health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation.
4. Helps control blood sugar levels. In people with diabetes, fiber — particularly soluble fiber — can slow the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels. A healthy diet that includes insoluble fiber may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
5. Aids in achieving healthy weight. High-fiber foods tend to be more filling than low-fiber foods, so you're likely to eat less and stay satisfied longer. And high-fiber foods tend to take longer to eat and to be less "energy dense," which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.
6. Helps you live longer. Studies suggest that increasing your dietary fiber intake — especially cereal fiber — is associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and all cancers. ~SOURCE

Wowza! That is great stuff! Sadly, according to Nutrition.org, only 5% of men and 9% of women are getting enough fiber in their daily diet. That is disturbing...

Just 7% of adults meet fiber recommendations, raising risk of chronic diseases

Rockville, Maryland (June 7, 2021) — Only 5% of men and 9% of women are getting the recommended daily amount of dietary fiber, according to a study being presented at NUTRITION 2021 LIVE ONLINE. Insufficient fiber intake is associated with a higher risk of heart disease and diabetes, two of the most common diseases in the U.S. ~SOURCE

I just wrote this blog to encourage you dear reader to eat more fiber in your daily diet. Without enough fiber, you can unfortunately look forward to cancer, bowel problems, weight gain, feeling lethargic and all kinds of potential diseases. All those boxed pizzas, boxed foods, junk food, ice cream, sugary sodas, greasy burgers and packaged snacks aren't good for your health. In the short term they won't hurt you enough to feel the results, but over the years you will see and feel the damage.

The encouraging thing, as the Bible proves in the book of Daniel, is that it just took 10 DAYS to see  a noticeable difference in Daniel and his peers. Daniel 1:14-16, “So he consented to them in this matter, and proved them ten days. And at the end of ten days their countenances appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the portion of the king's meat. Thus Melzar took away the portion of their meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.” I challenge you to start eating a high fiber diet, just the daily recommend amount. You will look and feel better in a short amount of time.

Millions of people are now excited about a new diabetic drug that has been proven to cause weight loss. The drug is called: Ozempic. But Medicare and other insurance companies refuse to pay for it. I don't blame them. I heard in the news this week that 100,000,000 obese Americans can benefit from this new drug. That's a lot of insurance claims and an aircraft carrier full of money!!! I also heard this week that 40% of Americans are obese. Dear reader, we don't need Ozempic, all we need to do is eat the recommended daily amount of fiber. Fiber makes the body feel full, which will curb our appetite. You'll never lose weight eating junk foods that are totally devoid of fiber.

I hope this information is helpful to you. Remember, by the inch it's a cinch, but by the yard it is hard. Don't pull the rug out from under yourself by forcing yourself to eat a bunch of foods that you dread eating. Rather, start including high fiber foods into your daily diet, and eat a balance of healthy foods and a lesser amount of your favorite foods (like ice cream). Keep it fun. Just focus on buying more foods higher in fiber at the grocery store. Also, drink more water. Thank you for reading. May we all be more health conscious like Daniel.