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Cathy
This is the best tasting fiber I have ever had. I can actually enjoy the drink with water, but with a little milk it is out of this world. Thanks for the great product!
Sylvia S O.D.
Finally, a company that tells the truth. So many people overlook cholesterol levels in protein risking their health. The topic of oxidized cholesterol is an important one that needs someone like yourself to lead the charge.
Julie
Thanks for the great fiber! All natural, Beta Glucan, 5 fiber sources and the TASTE is awesome.
Jeff L
As a bodybuilder I have tried all the proteins on the market. Thank you for making the best tasting isolate on the market. The sooner everyone learns all protein is not the same the quicker they will start making gains in the gym. Much appreciated.
Roger
I wanted to say thanks for such a great fiber product. I use this in conjunction with my pro-biotic as a "pre-biotic" and have had tremendous results. The flavor and smooth texture makes this fiber the most unique and flavorfull fiber drink I have ever had.
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What You Don't Know About Fiber May Be Hazardous To Your Health
Dietary fiber deficiency is both a silent and a treacherous killer - silent because a lack of fiber often doesn't manifest itself with any outward symptoms, and treacherous because most of us have no idea how lacking in fiber our diet truly is. It seems that most of us are still harboring the illusion that a balanced diet will supply us with all of the nutrients we need, but when it comes to dietary fiber, this illusion may very well prove deadly.
While once thought of merely as the "roughage" needed to keep us regular, fiber is now known to exert stunningly protective benefits to literally every system of our body. The lack of fiber in our modern diet may in fact be one of the most significant factors leading to our current epidemics of degenerative disorders, weight gain, and premature aging.
But even for all of its many benefits, dietary fiber still seems to be something of a mystery to the average American. Unlike our forefathers, whose unprocessed food supply ensured that they didn't have to give even a moment's thought to fiber, we have to make a conscious effort to take in a healthy amount of fiber each day. We can no longer assume that even the healthiest of diets will give us all of the fiber we need. The harsh fact is that our fiber intake in this country is dangerously low, and only seems to be getting worse.
Eating healthy in the modern world can be akin to tip-toeing through a nutritional minefield of processed, refined, and devitalized foods. If the only thing protecting your health is your ability to make educated and informed choices, then it's safe to say that what you don't know about dietary fiber may be very hazardous to your health.
Perhaps you don't quite know how much fiber you need each day, or exactly which foods are the best sources of fiber. Maybe you think that your morning bowl of fiber cereal is getting the job done by itself, or maybe you're just too busy and you find yourself relying on fiber-poor processed foods at the expense of fiber-rich whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.
Whatever the reason, the average American currently consumes only one-half to one-third of the bare minimum amount of fiber needed each day; and even "health-conscious" people usually don't seem to fare much better. By some estimates, a full 90 to 95 percent of us in this country are dietary fiber-deficient, and one could barely even conceive of a dietary shortcoming which represents a greater threat to our long-term health.
In this edition of the Integrated Supplements Newsletter we'll continue to "de-mystify" dietary fiber. We'll give you honest and no-nonsense answers to common questions, and we'll show you exactly why a healthy intake of fiber should be the first nutritional priority of anybody concerned optimal health and well-being.
And perhaps most importantly, we'll show you how we at Integrated Supplements have finally made the act of fiber supplementation easy and enjoyable with the world's first smooth-mixing, great-tasting, and balanced fiber supplement, Fiber Balance.
Q. What are some of the most common misconceptions people have regarding dietary fiber and fiber supplements?
A. Perhaps the biggest and most dangerous misconception many people have about fiber is that they think they're already eating enough, when in fact they're not even coming close.
People often simplistically think of fiber as "nature's broom," sweeping the intestines, and helping to rid the body of waste. Certain types of fiber can indeed have this effect, but many people think that fibers' role in health begins and ends with ensuring regularity. They assume that if their bathroom habits don't cause them any trouble that they must be consuming adequate fiber.
But this unfounded assumption almost always results in a false sense of security. The fact is that a person who assumes that his or her fiber intake is adequate based on a lack of digestive troubles is almost guaranteed to be chronically fiber-deficient.
Organizations like the American Dietetic Association, the American Heart Association, and the National Cancer Institute all recommend that we take in somewhere in the neighborhood of 25-35 grams of fiber per day; and if you've ever tried to consume this amount, you know that it takes work.
You've got to alter your diet, you've got to make the right food choices, you've got to read labels, and you've got to add up those grams of fiber.
These days, a healthy fiber intake definitely doesn't happen by accident, and those who think that they're meeting their fiber needs simply by eating a bowl of oatmeal or bran cereal in the morning may largely be deluding themselves.
And even if you do put in the effort to eat a high-fiber diet, if you're like most people, you may still find that reaching your goal of taking in 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day may be made infinitely easier with the use of a fiber supplement.
But unfortunately, fiber supplements continue to suffer from a bit of an image problem as well. Many people still think of fiber supplements only as remedies for occasional constipation; they don't often see them as the day-in and day-out solutions to fiber deficiency which they are.
This misconception, though, is a bit more understandable. Most fiber supplements can be very unpleasant to take, so it's not surprising that people are reluctant to use them on a regular basis.
For example, some of the most well-known fiber supplements contain seed husks from the psyllium plant which have an unpleasant gelling effect when mixed with water.
In actual practice, most people find it impossible to consume adequate fiber from psyllium-based fiber supplements because this gelling effect makes for a thick and gritty concoction which is definitely tough to "choke down" everyday. And as for those "purists" who actually do take their psyllium consistently, they are often rewarded with troublesome gas and intestinal bloating. Psyllium can absorb many times its own weight in water, and can swell to large volumes in the intestines often making consistent psyllium use a very uncomfortable proposition.
Other fiber supplements, especially those sold in health food stores, sometimes contain harsh laxative herbs which are not suitable for everyday use. These herbs can not only cause pain and intestinal cramping, but, as with any stimulant, our bodies can potentially build up a tolerance to these herbs making their long-term use inadvisable.
So, it's pretty easy to see why psyllium and laxative herbs have given most fiber supplements such a bad name. Fortunately, we at Integrated Supplements feel that we've put an end to thick, gritty, harsh and unpalatable fiber supplements forever.
The obvious shortcomings of other fiber supplements led us to create Fiber Balance, a fiber supplement specifically formulated to contain no thickening or gelling fibers and no laxative herbs. Fiber Balance was specifically created to provide an easy and enjoyable way for anybody to supplement their diet with the fiber they so desperately need.
Q. Are all dietary fibers the same from a health standpoint, or are there different types of fiber with different effects?
A. Another common misconception that plagues both fiber supplements and fiber from food sources is the idea that all fibers have the same or even similar effects. As scientists continue to unravel the mysteries of different types of dietary fiber, it's becoming clear that some types of fiber may have remarkable health-promoting effects, even at very low doses; while other fiber sources may be more of a "double-edged sword," imparting some benefits, but some undesirable effects as well.
In fact, the classification of different types of fiber is one area where scientists themselves are still learning. The former classification system for fiber which separated fiber into soluble and insoluble categories based upon its ability to absorb water has been largely abandoned, and is beginning to be replaced (at least in scientific circles) with the categories of fermentable or non-fermentable fiber.
Q. What are the different effects of fermentable and non-fermentable fiber?
A. Non-fermentable fiber which is a more precise term for what used to be called insoluble fiber isn't altered much as it passes through our digestive tracts. For the most part it has the "nature's broom" function most people associate with dietary fiber, and usually helps to keep us regular.
But fermentable fiber, or what used to be called soluble fiber, is turning out to be by far the more fascinating of the two types.
Many fermentable fibers can absorb water (hence the previous classification, soluble fiber), but, as the current name suggests, they can also undergo complete or partial fermentation by the beneficial bacteria in our intestines. It is this fermentation and the products it produces which give fermentable fiber such remarkable and far-reaching health-promoting effects.
Fermentable fiber actually serves as a fuel and growth-medium for the beneficial bacteria which call our intestines their home, and relatively few people realize how important certain types of fiber are to maintaining a healthy amount of "good bacteria" in our intestines.
As our modern diet has distanced us further and further from the traditional foods of our ancestors, it has become all too common for many of us to have seriously compromised levels of these beneficial bacteria in our gastrointestinal tracts. As a result, "bad" or pathogenic bacteria are then left to take over. Our modern low-fiber diets and over-reliance on antibiotics can often alter the balance of our intestinal ecosystem towards one that fosters ill-health and disease.
Q. The word "bacteria" still seems to have a negative connotation with most people, and many people have never even heard of the "good bacteria" living in their body. Could you explain what these "good bacteria" do, and why it's so important to maintain healthy levels of these "good bacteria" in our intestines?
A. Right now in each of our intestinal tracts live approximately 100 trillion bacteria. Some are just passing through, some are regular inhabitants, some are friendly, and some are not. Either way, for better or worse, whether we realize it or not, our gastrointestinal tracts are teeming with life. The sum total of the bacteria taking up residence in our gut outnumbers the total number of cells in our entire body, so we would be well served to make our intestines a hospitable place to as many beneficial of these organisms as possible.
Throughout the millennia of human evolution we've developed quite a symbiotic relationship with many of the friendly bacteria that call our gut their home. We provide them with the fuel they need to thrive in the form of fermentable fiber, and they reward us by aiding in the final digestion of our food, detoxifying certain substances, and producing certain acids which make our intestines an unwelcome place for other bacteria and organisms that would do us harm. Many people aptly refer to the beneficial bacteria in our gut as the body's "second immune system," as the detoxifying work they perform in our intestines takes a huge burden off of our internal immune system and detoxifying organs.
But as previously mentioned, our modern lifestyles are making it increasingly difficult to foster the growth of these friendly organisms, and almost by default, the unfriendly ones are left to take over. Here's a short list of some of the more common causes of "intestinal dysbiosis" or in simple terms the preponderance of bad bacteria in our gut at the expense of the good guys. These are all factors that can kill beneficial bacteria, letting pathogenic bacteria run wild:
Chlorinated Water (from drinking AND showering)
Antibiotic Usage
Eating Meats (animals are often given some of the strongest known antibiotics, which can kill off OUR intestinal bacteria when we eat their meat).
Excessive Sugar or White Flour Consumption
Birth Control Pills
A High Protein Diet (many types of protein feed pathogenic bacteria in the intestines and many of these "bad" bacteria produce intestinal toxins from the digestion of proteins.)
A Low Fiber Diet
That last item on the list, a low fiber diet, is the one which concerns us the most here.
While we as humans cannot digest dietary fiber, the beneficial bacteria in our intestines can, and they use it as a fuel to populate and colonize the gastrointestinal tract. As they thrive, these beneficial bacteria create many substances which actually have far-reaching benefits throughout our entire body.
In particular, the short-chain fatty acids, or SCFAs (acetic acid, butyric acid and propionic acid) produced by our beneficial bacteria as they digest fiber, are responsible for some absolutely fascinating health-promoting effects.
Q. What are some of the effects of the short-chain fatty acids produced by our beneficial bacteria?
A. It's common knowledge that certain types of dietary fiber may lower the risk of heart disease by lowering the level of cholesterol in our blood. Certain types of dietary fiber (especially the beta glucan fiber from oats) may do this by attaching to cholesterol from foods and bile acids and transporting it out of the body. Anybody whose watched any television commercials for oatmeal, or walked down the cereal aisle at their local grocery store in the past decade is probably at least somewhat familiar with this effect.
But what many people may not realize is that cholesterol reduction is only one way in which dietary fiber may reduce our risk of heart disease. Other mechanisms may include the actions of SCFAs like butyric acid and propionic acid.
At Integrated Supplements, we were perhaps the first nutritional supplement company to warn the public about the potentially harmful effects of oxidized cholesterol often found in processed foods and some nutritional supplements like whey protein concentrate.
Increasingly, scientific evidence seems to indicate that cholesterol only adheres to the vascular wall, causes inflammation, and acts as a component of the arterial plaque of heart-disease when it is oxidized. Non-oxidized cholesterol as would usually be found in fresh foods seems to be relatively harmless. So, as it turns out, it may not be our levels of cholesterol which are of the greatest concern if we're trying to prevent heart disease, but rather our levels of oxidized cholesterol in particular.
This may be where short-chain fatty acids come in. Studies have indicated that two SCFAs produced by the fermentation of fiber, butyric acid and propionic acid, are actually able to prevent oxidized cholesterol from "sticking to" the vascular wall, and are therefore able to inhibit the inflammation in our arteries normally caused by oxidized cholesterol. This inflammation is normally the first step in the build-up of the arterial plaque of heart disease, and it is prevented by the butyric acid and propionic acid produced from fermentable fiber.
Study -The Effect Of Short-Chain Fatty Acids On Expression Of Endothelial Adhesion Molecules Stimulated By Oxidatively Modified LDL
Because the SCFAs seem to act directly on the lining of the artery to prevent the adhesion of oxidized cholesterol, this may be an even more important mechanism than simple cholesterol reduction by which fermentable fiber may be able to reduce our risk of heart disease. Since these effects are independent of cholesterol levels per se, the take-home lesson is that even people with cholesterol levels within the normal range should still seek out adequate amounts of dietary fiber daily.
One of the specific reasons we went out of our way to formulate Fiber Balance with high levels of certain fermentable (or soluble) fibers is to maximize the production of butyrate and other SCFAs by the good bacteria in the intestines. Fiber sources like beta-glucan, inulin, and oligofructose have been shown to lead to increased SCFA production, and all of these fiber sources are included in Fiber Balance.
Q. That's amazing. Do the short-chain fatty acids produced by the fermentation of fiber have any other benefits for overall health?
A. Butyrate is perhaps most well known for its ability to support the integrity and structure of the intestines themselves.
Study - Rationale for the luminal provision of butyrate in intestinal diseases.
And although the research has shown mixed results regarding fiber's role in preventing colon cancer, there's a good chance that if researchers began to look at the effects of fermentable fiber in particular, and took into account the role of butyrate, that the results would be more conclusive.
Article - Mechanism Found for Fiber's Effect Against Colon Cancer
And while most healthy people may not lose sleep at night worrying about the integrity of their gastrointestinal tracts, it's important to realize that we are all constantly being bombarded with dozens of elements in our food supply and environment which can harm this surprisingly delicate tissue. We always try to emphasize that, in our modern world, a healthy digestive function is something that we all need to strive to achieve everyday.
Q. Yes, you've written elsewhere that under certain situations even very healthy people can sometimes suffer from increased intestinal permeability, or a "leaky gut" as it's more commonly known. Could you explain why this is and how dietary fiber can help?
A. In previous Integrated Supplements Newsletters we've shown you how delicate the intestines can be, and how easily the "barrier function" of the intestines, can be compromised (even in healthy individuals) by factors such as:
Food Additives (Carrageenan, Artificial Colors, Sucralose)
Excessive Exercise
Estrogen/Birth Control Pills
Infectious Agents (viruses/bad bacteria)
Alcohol Consumption
Surgery
It's probably fair to say that any stress, including excessive psychological stress can compromise our intestinal barrier. Generalized stress and anxiety are thought, even by the most conventional of medical experts, to be associated with gastrointestinal inflammation and disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome.
And once our intestines become "leaky" and inflamed, and lose the ability to keep the toxins of the intestines out of our bloodstream, all hell breaks loose. Our taxed liver and immune system shoot into overdrive producing harmful free radicals which do even more damage and consume precious antioxidants. A compromised intestinal barrier sets the stage for a chronic vicious cycle of toxicity, inflammation and degeneration within our body.
Knowing this, it's not surprising that the list of symptoms thought by some to be associated with a "leaky gut" is far-reaching, and doesn't simply involve the digestive system:
Joint Pain
Fatigue
Inflammation
Skin disorders like acne and psoriasis
Yeast overgrowth
Depression
Headaches are all associated with a compromised barrier function of the intestines.
Now, in a technical sense, it's important to remember that the contents of our intestines lie outside of our body, and it's the job of our intestinal barrier to see to it that this foreign and toxic matter does not find its way into our bloodstream. But, in each of us, whether we consider ourselves healthy or not, our intestines sometimes function sub-optimally at this task.
For example, the sore, achy, run-down feeling we experience when we've got the flu, or when we've eaten a "questionable" undercooked meal, or even after a night of excessive alcohol consumption are all though to be due in large part to the damaging effect which all of these factors have on the integrity of our gastrointestinal tracts. A similar phenomenon whereby periods of excess estrogen cause increased intestinal permeability is often thought to contribute to pre-menstrual symptoms in women as well.
So, the toxic burden of "autointoxication" - the passage of intestinal contents (most notably, bacteria, viruses, and products of inefficient digestion) into the blood stream via a compromised intestinal barrier - is much more common than many people seem to recognize. It's a phenomenon which, we've all experienced at one time or another to varying degrees.
Even excessive exercise has been known to cause serious damage to the gastrointestinal tract and consequently, major inflammation and shock-like reactions as well.
Here's a telling quote from a 1998 study published in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology regarding the effects of exercise on the intestinal barrier function and inflammation:
"The clinical syndrome known as the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), which embodies uncontrolled inflammation in trauma and sepsis, is reproduced in its entirety by vigorous exercise. . ."
So, it may be especially important for athletes and workout enthusiasts to take in sufficient amounts of fiber each day. Dietary fiber, because of its role in preventing exercise-induced gastrointestinal inflammation may very well be the most under-recognized factor in aiding in muscle growth and recovery from exercise. And, whether we're athletes or not, our poor intestinal tracts are under attack from all sides. Luckily, there are steps we can take to protect ourselves.
The first step in maintaining the healthy structure and function of our intestinal barrier may be to ensure an adequate intake of fermentable fiber each day. It is fermentable (also known as soluble) fiber which serves to naturally foster the growth of the healthy SCFA-producing bacteria.
Supporting digestive health with precise amounts and ratios of several fermentable fibers was exactly the goal we had in mind when we created Fiber Balance.
Q. Speaking of fostering the growth of good bacteria, in recent years many people have begun taking "probiotic" supplements and have begun eating foods like yogurt which contain specific strains of "good bacteria" (i.e. lactobacillus acidophilus, and lactobacillus bulgaricus, among others). If a person is trying to encourage the growth of good bacteria in their intestinal tracts, can a fiber supplement like Fiber Balance support their efforts even further?
A. Yes, absolutely. We believe that anybody taking probiotic supplements, or eating foods like yogurt, and kefir in an effort to reap the benefits of good bacteria should also be taking Fiber Balance.
We've formulated Fiber Balance to contain several specific types of fermentable fibers which are known as pre-biotics, meaning that they specifically support the growth of friendly organisms in the intestinal tract and consequently they support the production of the all-important short-chain fatty acids as well.
You could hardly even conceive of a more perfect combination than Fiber Balance taken with probiotic supplements, or even mixed right into yogurt for a tasty treat.
Fiber Balance may even be able to correct some of the shortcomings of many probiotic supplements. For example - while probiotic supplements will ideally contain live bacterial organisms, the conditions under which the supplement was produced, shipped, and stored can often cause many of these friendly bacteria to die off.
And unfortunately, it's not uncommon for many probiotic products sold as nutritional supplements to contain only a small fraction of the live bacterial counts listed on the label. Quite a few probiotic supplements, when tested have even been found to contain no live organisms at all.
The live probiotic organisms may have a difficult time surviving stomach acid as well. By the time digestion occurs, it's often the case that very few viable organisms even make it into the intestinal environment where they can perform their magic.
But this is where Fiber Balance can come in. Because we formulated Fiber Balance specifically to contain fiber sources which feed and nourish these friendly intestinal bacteria, Fiber Balance can help even a small number of organisms multiply and flourish into a thriving army of good bacteria.
Many people when using Fiber Balance find that they only need to take their probiotic supplement once a week or so (instead of everyday) to keep their levels of good bacteria in full force.
Q. You mentioned that people can mix Fiber Balance right into yogurt for a treat. There are certainly not many companies out there claiming to have a "great-tasting" fiber supplement. Why is the taste of Fiber Balance such an important feature?
A. One of the most exciting things about Fiber Balance is how great it tastes, and how easy it is to add Fiber Balance to a countless number of foods or liquids. We knew right off the bat when formulating Fiber Balance that it simply had to be the best-tasting, smooth-mixing fiber supplement on the market.
There are tons of fiber supplements on the shelves at every drugstore and every health food store in the country, and yet this nation's fiber intake is still lower than ever. When we began to formulate Fiber Balance, we immediately asked ourselves, "Why aren't people already using fiber supplements to make up for the lack of fiber in their diets?"
The answer, as we mentioned earlier, is that most of the fiber supplements out there are downright difficult to take on a daily basis. They're thick, they're gritty, they cause bloating, and most people simply won't make them a part of their everyday routine. And at the end of the day, what good is a fiber supplement if people won't actually take it?
Using concentrated sources of food-based fiber from things like apples and oats, we were able to give Fiber Balance a delicious Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal flavor which mixes smooth and creamy into water, juice, milk, cereal, smoothies, yogurt, apple sauce, pudding - the sky's the limit.
At Integrated Supplements our philosophy is based around improving peoples' lives through nutrition. We know that if we're ever going to have a major impact on the nutritional landscape of this country that we've got to create products which are not only the highest quality, but which also taste great.. There's simply no reason to expect people to settle for less.
And who knows, with a fiber Supplement like Fiber Balance, the days of rampant fiber deficiency in this country could very well be numbered.
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