The Benefits of a High Fiber Diet or How I Learned That Prunes Can Be Hazardous to Your Health

Cardboard? No
Delicious? Yes

Time for a bit of health awareness.  Everyone talks about fiber these days and the importance of staying regular.  This seems to be a part of the human condition.  There are very few television shows aimed at persons over the age of 30 which do not feature at least one commercial for Fiber One.  "It makes me sad," says one young husband when his wife tells him he should get more fiber in his diet.  The friendly store clerk admonishes the dubious shopper, "Cardboard, no, delicious, yes."  

I have found Jamie Leigh Curtis extremely inspirational in her preaching on the benefits and delights of eating Activia yogurt.  It seems it will not only bring joy to your taste buds, but regulate your system in a gentle and safe manner.  I have to admit I do enjoy those little cartons of creamy goodness, but one is max because all you-know-what will break loose, oh, well, maybe that is a bad metaphor, but you get what I mean.

The recommendation for five servings of fresh fruits and vegetables daily (or something like that) would seem to cure all ailments.  If we were to watch our diets as religiously as we watch our money, we would probably not need anything to restore order to our digestive systems.  The sad thing is cheese and potato chips like ice cream and Snickers bars simply taste too good to not have some once in a while.  "All things in moderation," said wise old Ben Franklin.  That I am afraid is not always the American way these days.

So I do agree that a high fiber diet is important to overall health.  I loveKellogg's Crunchy Raisin Bran for breakfast.  Once I tried eating prunes on a regular basis.  Trouble was, they taste so very good, I ate too many and, well, the results were disaster in the making.  So now a good prune danish is on my list of treats...best of both worlds I say!

There, this wasn't so bad, was it?  And maybe raising our level of awareness about the serious nature of a sometimes humorous subject could save your life. A good diet does consist of a healthy dose of fiber, vitamins and minerals, and other fresh offerings available these days year round.  But the best medicine of all, as Reader's Digest used to feature, is laughter.  Hope this brought a bit to you.