New Healthy Products to Add Fiber and Gut Health

metahealth4


Two hot nutrition topics are fiber and probiotics. Unfortunately, most of us don’t consume enough of either! Hectic schedules can make it difficult to eat metaadequate amounts of the right foods. Things can also get a little “irregular” … if you know what I mean!  The average American eats only 15 grams of fiber a day … not even close to the goal of 25-35 grams. And our diets are especially low in soluble fiber (the kind of fiber that lowers blood cholesterol and helps maintain healthy blood glucose levels). I know most of my CGB readers tend to “eat on the run” so I wanted to introduce you to a few new products I have been doing some consulting with that can add fiber and “good bugs” (probiotics!) to your diet. Remember Metamucil? It’s been around since 1934 and it often thought of as a laxative. Well, it’s been rebranded as Meta Health and includes 3 new products: Meta Bar, Metamucil fiber supplement and MetaBiotic probiotic supplements.


Benefits of soluble fiber

First, a little chat on fiber. Most foods contain a mixture of soluble and insoluble fiber. Think of insoluble fiber as “tree bark” that doesn’t get digested and passes right through you and soluble fiber as a gummy sticky fiber. While our bodies need both soluble and insoluble fiber for good health, soluble fiber is especially important in:
– Promoting heart health. Soluble fiber forms a thick gel that traps some cholesterol, bile acids and waste in your gut. This can help to lower your cholesterol levels.
– Helping to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. As noted above, the soluble fiber works in your digestive system by gelling and trapping sugars so they can be slowly released and absorbed in your body.
– Helping to promote regularity, especially in IBS. It tends to cause less gas and bloating than insoluble fiber.


Soluble fiber content of foodsHealthy Foods
I generally recommend my patients meet their fiber needs with food. However, easier said than done for many people – especially when it comes to soluble fiber. While there are no formal recommendations for soluble fiber, most experts recommend 10+ grams a day. As mentioned above, goal for total fiber is 25-35 grams a day.  So as you can see, unless you are loading up on oatmeal, beans, apples and brussels sprouts, it’s not so easy to consume adequate soluble fiber!  Some people may benefit from a fiber supplement.  pic credit


New products from Meta to the rescue
While many products on the market have added fiber to bump up the total fiber content, most of this fiber is insoluble – not soluble. One of the highest sources of soluble fiber is psyllium husk. It’s derived from the seed of the Plantago ovata plant. This is the fiber found in Metamucil fiber supplement and the new Meta Health bar. Here is a little more about the products:

Metamucil is a fiber supplement made with 100% natural psyllium fiber.
– It helps lower cholesterol to promote heart health†
– It helps maintain healthy blood glucose levels as part of your diet
– Promotes digestive health
– Helps you feel less hungry in between meals*
– Contains 2 grams of soluble fiber for one serving (1 tsp) and 5 grams for 2 servings (2 tsp)1
– They also come in convenient individual packs – great for fiber on the go!

† Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 7 grams of soluble fiber per day from psyllium husk, as in Metamucil, may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol.  One serving of Metamucil capsules has at least 1.8 grams of this soluble fiber.

Meta Health Bar is a great choice for a healthy high fiber snack on the run.
– This bar contains 150 calories and packs in 3 gm of soluble fiber (compared to many other bars that have 1 gram or less)
– It promotes digestive health without the gas or bloating that can be found in bars with added fiber from inulin or chicory root
– It can help satisfy your hunger due to the soluble fiber content*

MetaBiotic is a probiotic supplement with Bio-Active 12, that naturally helps to:
– Promote a healthy immune system (did you know that 70% of the immune system occurs in the gut?)*
– Maintain digestive balance*
– It contains 5 billion live bacteria when manufactured! Take one capsule once a day

Bottom line, when you can’t meet your fiber needs with food, the Meta Health Bar and Meta Mucil can be great choices to help you out. And more and more research is demonstrating how important probiotics are to our health (more on this at a later post!) Try the MetaBiotic to feed your “good” bacteria! It can improve your immune system and digestive health. Check out the new video with Michael Strahan, spokesperson for Meta Health.

Note – always check with your doctor before taking fiber supplements or probiotics. While they are fine for most people, certain medical conditions could warrant caution.

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.    

 

 

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I especially love problem-solving, whether it’s helping women defeat issues plaguing them for years, helping a busy executive find practical ways to get heart healthy, or providing tips to help you reverse diabetes. That’s why I’m on a constant quest to expand my knowledge by staying on top of the latest research.

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