Low Fiber Sets Teens On the Path of Metabolic Disease

A study analyzing the diets of American teens shows that low fiber intake is the key factor associated with the development of the metabolic syndrome (expanding waistline, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar), placing them on the path for cardiovascular disease. Not surprisingly to me, but apparently troubling for dietitians, foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat were not linked to developing metabolic disease in this study.

The researchers found that the typical teen had 13 grams of dietary fiber per day, half of what is minimally acceptable. Other research shows that average teens get 30 percent of their calories from sugary foods, drinks, and snacks. The combination is self-abusive.

Those teens with the lowest fiber intake had three times the number of people with metabolic syndrome compared to those with the highest fiber intake – a dramatic finding. As fiber intake went up metabolic syndrome went down. In comparison, there was no significant correlation between cholesterol intake or saturated intake and the development of metabolic syndrome.

This latter finding flies in the face of the "fat is evil" propaganda spewed forth by the American Heart Association, American Dietetic Association, and the American Medical Association. Sure, a person can eat too much fat. But it is excess fat in combination with low omega-3 oil (DHA), low fiber, and high sugar that is actually the problem. This study proves that low fiber intake is the real key, not fat. This does not sit well with the dietary propaganda machine that has sat watch over the ever expanding waistlines of Americans.

Increasing fiber intake, through foods and extra supplements of dietary fiber, is one of the most basic and helpful things an individual can do to improve his or her health.