NEW YEAR, NEW YOU / FIBER!

Ok, we’ve covered some deep topics so far in this series so let’s lighten things up. And that’s exactly what fiber does :) Talking about bathroom stuff is always weird but we need to do a little of that here because it is so important to our health. Fiber keeps things moving and feeds our gut bacteria - the good kind. About half of our bowel movements are bacteria. These microbes are billions of little magicians keeping us happy and healthy. All we need to do is feed them, that’s a pretty sweet deal. Our digestive system is really long compared to our bodies just like deer, rabbits, and other herbivores. In carnivores like cats and coyotes, theirs are really short. The reason for the length is multiple stages of breaking down, filtering, and extracting nutrients from plants. It just takes longer and fiber keeps the train moving! We’ve lived most of our lives as non vegans so there is NO judgment if you haven’t made the switch. When we decided to make a change to a whole food plant based diet, an interesting thing happened. People in our lives suddenly became nutritionists. We’d previously shared deep dish meat lovers pizzas and DQ blizzards with people without objection. But going plant based raised questions, and the most common one of course is “but how will you get your protein?” It’s not their fault, the deck is stacked against us with marketing and misinformation and we’ll cover protein in another post (spoiler alert, you don’t need to worry about it, we all get too much). However, the thing that almost all of us are severely deficient in is fiber. The good news is that it’s a super easy fix. You don’t need an expensive supplement, you just need to do what your body was made for. Eat plants! Fruit, veggies, beans, whole grains, and the list goes on, are all packed with it. In addition to fiber you’ll get water, minerals, antioxidants, and yes protein (still, don’t even think about it - as long as you eat enough calories you will get sufficient protein). Fiber also triggers the “I’m full” receptors (I believe that’s the medical term 😂) in the stomach helping to prevent overeating and maintain a healthy weight. John’s mom always says that she finally found a diet where she feels full and can eat to her hearts content without counting calories! And like we talked about, it will keep you “regular” and things moving. We are meant to have a 2-3 soft bowel movements a day and a WFPB diet will naturally make that happen. So yes, it’s an easy fix, but depending on your starting point there may be a little “transition” period. Basically, going from no/low-fiber to the proper amount might give you gas 💨. This is normal and temporary. Your body was making do with what it had before and it just takes a a little time. This doesn’t happen to everyone but sometimes there are a few weeks of being uncomfortable but it will pass and you’ll feel better than ever. Once your body transitions to the fuel it was meant to run on - the rewards of feeling full after meals and being regular in the bathroom are SO worth it. As you start to eat more fiber you begin to grow new, healthier, bacteria (the good kind) in your gut that actually help determine your taste preference. The more healthy, fiber rich foods you feed them, the more they want and they will signal this to you through cravings! It takes time, but eventually your taste for certain foods can change. It’s almost like it was meant to be that way 😉 ! And one last point, fiber is ONLY FOUND IN PLANTS, there is NO fiber in animal products. As always if there is anything we can do to help you make a change for compassion, health, and the planet please let us know. We have a bunch of cooking classes coming up at Peacefield, we’d love to answer any questions, recommend resources, take you to the grocery store, etc. You can do it - and we’re here to help!