[J.J.'s Grandma]

I was recently put on medication to lower my cholesterol. I was also told to add more complex carbs to my diet and to eat more fiber. My diet bread has five grams of fiber. Does that mean it's a complex carb? It's white bread and doesn't have any noticible grains in it at all. Some of the more grainy type breads are lower in fiber. I'm so confused about this subject. Thanks for your help.

[lighter]

I can't answer your questions about complex carbs but I can tell you about lowering my cholesterol. Mine was quite high and that is why I started back to W W 1/99. I tried to cut out as much fat as I could. I also made high fiber bran muffins for my breakfast. After 6 months the cholesterol did come down. My weight stalled after a year and I added high fiber cereal. After loosing 70 pounds and reaching goal I am off medication. I have had a problem with the liver count being up a little and hopefully this week I will find out the results of my latest blood work up. My doctor had me go to vitamins with no iron as my iron count was up. I hope we finally have figured out what has made the liver count go up.

I make Bran Muffins with extra fiber Kelloggs Bran Cereal. The recipe is in the message board recipes on www.dottisweightosszone.com. I also eat Kashi Go Lean Cereal at least four times a week. I eat very little little red meat. I would think the more grain in your bread the better if you are a bread eater. But do watch the fat. I switched to I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray for vegetables and use Bummel and Brown the few times I have toast or a roll. I hope this helps.

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Ann P

[J.J.'s Grandma]

Actually, up until I was told to add more fiber and complex carbs I had cut out most starches and fat. I mostly eat chicken and some egg whites once in awhile. I had been trying to add more protein and less breads because I seem to lose slower when consuming bread products.
One of the side effects to the medication was something to do with my liver. Thanks for your suggestions.

[PeggyLee]

Your diet bread is not really high in natural fiber if it doesn't have any noticeable grains in it. Try Bouyea Fassets whole wheat bread, or Peppridge Farm 7 or 9 grain breads -- they have 3 grams of fiber per slice.

I'd suggest more fruits and veggies -- blueberries, strawberries, raspberries are all good. Most veggies too.

Also try high fiber cereal -- All Bran is okay, but I especially Good Friends Kashi or Go Lean cereals. They have either 8 or 10 grams of fiber per serving.

I'd ditch ANYTHING made with white flour, even if it's said it's fortified. Stick to the true high fiber stuff.

Peggy

[J.J.'s Grandma]

My diet bread and fat free tortillas have five grams of fiber. I've been led to believe that these low point foods were healthy because they were full of fiber. But you're telling me it's an artificial fiber and not the healthy kind? How are we to know? I'm still confused.

[Lin S]

Hi,

What some companies do to boost the fiber without using whole grain flours is to add cellulose, which comes from trees. They do this because they can boost the fiber content without adding calories. So you get white flour texture, low points, and fiber. I haven't researched the health consequences of cellulose, but since we don't usually eat wood, I prefer to eat whole grain products. (FYI-I think it's important to let you know that I have a bias anyway against eating "diet" foods, which I define as food that is produced specifically to replace the real thing so that you lose weight. That bias is a long story, so I won't go into the reasons here.)

Natural grains consist of the whole kernel of the grain. Whole wheat flour, oatmeal, bulgar (which I use as a filler in meatballs--my family didn't notice.), whole grain cornmeal (which I found I could buy online cheaper than in the grocery store.

Some grains that are less well known, but really good are whole wheat couscous (the only whole wheat pasta that I like) and quinoa.

I've also found a wide variety of brown rices, including a short grain that works really well in a risotto. I've found brown basmati rice. I've found brown jasmine rice. And I've found a wide variety of brown rice blends that are excellent.

The only refined grains I use on a regular basis is regular pasta, but the semolina/durum flour isn't as refined as regular all-purpose, but it's not a fiber rich as whole wheat flour. I make my own bread using slightly more than half whole grain flours. I eat white flour products mainly in foods that I consider treats that I don't eat at every meal.

If you want to know some online sources for some of the products I've mentioned, please feel free to send me a PM. I don't want to seem like a salesperson for particular products or web sites.

I hope this helps.

Lin

[lighter]

Lin has mentioned some very good info. I never would have tried bulgar, quinoa and lentils if I hadn't been taking a low fat cooking class and we made things with them in class. They were wonderful. I like brown rice but tend to use Success in a bag as the long cooking kinds doesn't come out very good for me.

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Ann P