Eat more fiber to lose weight and live longer

MANILA, Philippines - What you eat plays a big role in what might happen to you, say, in the next 10 years. Throw in lack of physical activity (a.k.a. exercise) and the verdict gets worse.

Your diet and a sedentary lifestyle are the common causes of life-threatening diseases like cardiovascular disease, breast and colon cancer.

In the Philippines, diseases of the heart rank as the top-killer disease where 90 percent of Filipinos these days are positive, caused by unhealthy lifestyles like physical inactivity and smoking. Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in the country, linked to a diet of fatty foods and deficiency in whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. Risk factors for breast cancer, which is now the country’s leading cause of cancer deaths for both sexes, are smoking, drinking, dietary fat, and inherited disorders.

Cheshire Que, a US-registered dietitian and consultant to corporations on clinical nutrition and weight management, says lack of fiber in the diet results in weight gain, obesity, constipation, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, fatigue, acne, bad breath, and body odor. If left unchecked, these symptoms can lead to more serious ailments.

Increasing your fiber intake is the easiest way to avoid these symptoms, Que advised. Fiber is found in whole grains, oats, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, brown and red rice. Drinking lots of water is recommended when eating fiber-rich food. A high- fiber intake makes you feel satiated quickly so you tend to eat less than usual, helping you keep your weight down at a healthy level.

Inside the body, fiber acts like a vacuum, absorbing large amounts of water, making body waste or stools softer and easier to pass through your intestines. When you’re constipated, the buildup of hardened feces sticks to the linings of the colon (large intestines) with the toxins being absorbed into the bloodstream, leading to auto intoxication or self-poisoning.

How eating fiber can help in avoiding and relieving constipation is among the topics that will be taken up at the So Easy Life Camp on Saturday, March 26 at St. Giles Hotel on Makati Avenue, Makati City. Cheshire Que will be one of the speakers in this one-day preventive health and colon-cleansing seminar.

Other topics are “Fitness exercises for healthy living” by actress Jackielou Blanco; “Mucoid-free, disease-free” by Pennie Chong, a Malaysian-registered nutritionist and dietitian who has organized colon-cleansing camps all over the world; and “Avoiding cancer-producing agents” by radiation oncologist Dr. Anthony Abad.

Additional information about the So Easy Life Camp can be obtained by calling 890-1111, 890-EASY (3279) or visiting http://mysoeasycleanse.com.