"Recent research offers some compelling reasons to up your daily dose of fiber. Diets high in fiber have been shown to reduce the occurrence of several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and possibly cancer. As a result, in 2002 the National Academy of Sciences' Food and Nutrition Board recommended for the first time that Americans increase their daily fiber intake to 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women, the levels they found protective against heart disease.
Yet most Americans eat half the recommended amount of fiber, relying instead on refined foods. If you're on a low-carb diet, you may not consume any fiber."
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"Easier Weight Loss "Not eating enough fiber may be one reason why people are getting fatter," says David J.A. Jenkins, professor of nutrition and medicine at the University of Toronto and a member of the NAS expert panel. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition last year found that women with the highest intake of fiber had a 49 percent lower risk of weight gain when compared with women on low-fiber diets.
Very little, if any, fiber is actually digested. So, with foods high in fiber, only a portion of the calories that you eat actually count, which means high-fiber diets tend to be somewhat lower in calories than their low-fiber counterparts.
"High-fiber foods are also bulky and contain a lot of water, which means they can fill you up with fewer calories than low-fiber foods. Studies conducted by Barbara J. Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University, during the past five years show that consuming high-fiber foods, such as vegetables, before or during a meal decreased total intake by 100 calories. While saving 100 calories a day may not sound like much, it translates into 10 pounds in one year."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A63160-2004Dec14.html
