Fiber: More Than a Handful of Benefits

Are you looking for a way to brighten up your office, hallway, cafeteria, or waiting area for the new year? Start with our High Five to High Fiber poster.

Nobody can walk past this beautiful poster without stopping to take a closer look. When they do, they’ll see colorful photos of high fiber foods arranged in the shape of a hand giving a high five.

Why a high five? Because dietary fiber has more than a handful of health benefits. In fact, you can’t even count the number of benefits on one hand. A high fiber eating pattern is worthy of a high five!

Here are a few ways to expand on the High Five to High Fiber poster with your audience:

  • If you have a computer or TV nearby, play the 10-minute fiber movie that comes with with our Fiber DVD/CD set.
  • Offer a class or webinar using the Fiber PowerPoint show that includes speaker’s notes, a leader guide, handouts, and the 10-minute fiber movie.
  • Use the High Five to High Fiber poster as the center of a bulletin board display that also shouts out some of the benefits of dietary fiber and a high fiber eating pattern:
    • Blood sugar control
    • Cholesterol-lowering power for heart health
    • Weight loss/weight maintenance aid
    • Foundation for a Mediterranean-style or plant-based eating pattern
    • Gut health and regularity
    • Saves money when you eat more beans and lentils instead of meat

Educating your clients, students, or employees about a high fiber eating pattern puts a healthy eating strategy right into their hands!

By Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD

 

Give Fiber a High-Five

It’s time to give fiber a high-five. How do you do that? Take a look at our new High Five to High Fiber poster and you’ll see.

Kids and adults alike will love this colorful poster that features vibrant photos of real high fiber foods, all within the outline of a hand giving a high-five.

Why a high-five to fiber-rich foods? Consider these five points from the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans:

  1. Dietary fiber is considered a dietary component of public health concern for the general U.S. population because low intakes are associated with health concerns.
  2. Dietary patterns that do not meet recommended intakes of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains contribute to low intakes of dietary fiber.
  3. More than 90 percent of women and 97 percent of men do not meet recommended intakes for dietary fiber.
  4. Whole grains are consumed below recommended levels for children of all ages.
  5. Fruit and vegetable intake decreases as children get older and by late adolescence (18-21yrs), average fruit and vegetable consumption is about half of the recommended range of intake.

This isn’t good news for Americans, but the High Five to High Fiber poster doesn’t dwell on the negative. It stays positive, with the simple message that all the beautiful fruits, grains, nuts, vegetables, and legumes pictured contain dietary fiber.

As a bonus, the poster is also great for teaching about a plant-based diet.

So let’s all give a high-five to high fiber foods!

Hollis Bass, MEd, RD, LD