Let me give you the facts:

• the average American barely consumes half of the recommended amount of fiber per day and only 10 percent of people in the U.S. are getting the recommended amount of fiber in their diets
• 53 percent of Americans believe that steak is a significant source of fiber when in reality, meat contains little or no dietary fiber at all
• 42 percent believe potato chips contain a significant amount of fiber

The Real Deal about Fiber and Your Health

Fiber (also called roughage or bulk) is composed of sugar and starch from plants. Your body does not digest and absorb fiber, unlike proteins and fats, and it passes unchanged through your stomach and small intestine into the large intestine.

There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. The main difference between the two is how they work in your body. After you ingest soluble fiber, it absorbs water and is converted into a gel-like substance which traps food, sugars, cholesterol and fats in your stomach, leads them to the digestive tract and slows their absorption into your body. On the other hand, insoluble fiber passes through your digestive system largely intact and helps it function better.

More than simply being a remedy for constipation, a high-fiber diet can greatly improve your health by:

• promoting the growth of healthy bacteria in your intestinal tract to help enhance your immune system and overall wellness
• helping lower the risk of heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, obesity and certain cancers
• keeping you feeling full longer to help regulate your weight
• slowing down the absorption of sugar to improve your blood glucose
• trapping cholesterol and fats to help you maintain ideal cholesterol levels and,
• absorbing water and adding “bulk” to your tool to enhance intestinal health and regularity

How Much Fiber Do You Need and Where to Get It

The National Fiber Council recommends at least 32 grams of fiber per day as the minimum consumption for a healthy adult.

If you’re currently on a low-carbohydrate diet and have reduced the amount of grains, fruits and veggies you eat, it will be hard for you to meet the 32-gram minimum. The same goes if you’re fond of eating fast food.

But it’s actually not that hard to maintain a healthy amount of fiber in your diet.

Oats, oat bran, dried beans and peas, barley, flax seed, oranges, apples, carrots and psyllium husk are foods rich in soluble fiber. You can get insoluble fiber from whole-wheat products, wheat oats, corn bran, flax seed, green beans, cauliflower, potato skins and from fruit and root vegetable skins.

Get your fiber from real fruits and not from fruit juices because fresh fruits contain more nutrients and fiber. Also, most fruit juices are overloaded with sugar and the pasteurization process can destroy some vitamins and minerals.

Switching from a low-carb diet to a high-fiber diet may prove to be a more effective way of losing weight because fiber is not digested, keeping you feeling full, which can minimize or eliminate extra snacking.

If you’re having a hard time getting the optimal amount of fiber into your diet, Dr. Mercola recommends a quality fiber supplement called Fiber Harmony Organic Psyllium. It’s certified 100% organic by the USDA and is guaranteed to deliver your daily recommended allowance of soluble and insoluble fiber.

Remember, being healthy doesn’t need to be complicated. You’d be surprised at how a simple lifestyle change like getting the right amount of fiber can do wonders for your health.

In an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah endorsed the Acai berry as a superfood for age-defying beauty.

Let me tell you more about this much-talked about “superfruit.”

The Acai (Açaí, pronounced as Ah-sigh-EE) berry is the fruit of the Acai palm and grows in clumps or clusters similar to grapes. Researchers have recently discovered that the Acai berry contains 300 percent more antioxidants than grapes or blueberries.

The antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables is called the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) value – the higher the ORAC score, the higher the antioxidant content.

Fresh Acai berries have an incredible ORAC value of 5,500, compared to apples (218), bananas (221) and blueberries (2,400). The Yanomami Indians in Brazil have included Acai berries in their diet for centuries because they believe that it is a food that “holds unique power.”

A ‘Berry’ Nutritious Food

Because the Acai berry is supercharged with antioxidants, it helps your immune system work better and provides you with extra energy and stamina, helping your body fight off the effects of pollution, chemicals, and the attack of germs, bacteria and viruses around us.

In another study, University of Florida researchers found that Acai extracts “triggered a self-destruct response” in as much as 86 percent of leukemia cells tested. While the researchers didn’t go as far as saying that they may have found a looming cure for the disease, they were very “encouraged” by the findings.

Aside from being rich in antioxidants, the Acai is also loaded with other important nutrients. Almost 1/3 of the berry contains essential fatty acids, 74 percent of which comes from unsaturated fats such as Omega 3, Omega 6 and Omega 9.7

The Acai’s fatty acid content is similar to that of olive oil and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid, which helps Omega 3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane. Together, they make cell membranes more supple and by keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitters and insulin receptors function more efficiently. Oleic acid helps you avoid getting high insulin levels, helping you preventing inflammation, which causes aging.

Each 100 grams of Acai berries also contains:

• 12 mg of calcium
• 11.8 mg of iron
• 2.4 g of proteins
• 9 mg of Vitamin C
• 58 mg of phosphorus
• Vitamin A (1,000 I.U.)
• Vitamins B1 (0.36mg), B2 (0.01g), B3-Niacin (0.40mg) and
• 44.2 grams of natural fiber

Acai’s high-fiber content may help you shed those excess pounds because fiber has little or no calories, keeping you feeling full longer and preventing the temptation to overeat.

Additionally, it gives you 20 percent of the RDI of Vitamin E in a single serving and contains 19 essential and non-essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein which aid in metabolism and muscle development.

All these nutrients, combined in one tiny fruit, gives you these health benefits:

• Increases energy levels
• Helps you lose weight
• Improves digestion
• Improves mental clarity/focus
• Improves sleep
• Cleansing and detoxification of the body
• Boosts your immune system
• Enhances sexual desire and performance
• Helps fight cancerous cells
• Helps slow down aging
• Promotes healthy and youthful-looking skin
• Helps alleviate diabetes
• Regulates cholesterol levels
• Helps maintain healthy heart function
• Minimizes inflammation
• Improves circulation
• Helps prevents atherosclerosis
• Enhances visual acuity

Wow! I’m impressed! The Acai’s combination of antioxidants, essential fatty acids and fiber does make it a must-try “beauty fruit.”

How to Enjoy the Benefits of Acai

The Acai tastes like a mixture of red wine and chocolate so it is easily likeable because it is neither too tart nor too sweet. The downside is if you don’t live in Brazil near the Amazon, it’s not likely that you’ll get the chance savor the actual fruit right from the tree. The berry is quite fragile, making shipping a problem.

Manufacturers solved this problem by inventing a free-dry method to help them preserve the berry’s high level of nutrients. Freeze-dried Acai can be added to a number of different foods, or made into smoothies, sherbets or ice cream.

And the easiest way to enjoy the Acai? Juice up! There are already several companies producing pure Acai juice. Just check the labels of Acai “juice drinks” to avoid brands that may include other fruit juices and added flavorings.