Are You Getting Enough Fiber in your Diet?

To understand the role green vegetables can play in your nutritional health,
particularly when combined with other healthy foods such as fruit, consider that
by eating 2 apples, 2 oranges, 2 cups of broccoli, and 5 cups of romaine lettuce
on a daily basis, you would get approximately 450 calories, 28 grams of fiber,
and more than 2,400 mg of potassium. The average American consumes only 15 grams
of fiber per day; the typical recommendation is to get 25-30 grams per day (even
that amount is likely too low).

Many diseases are associated with low fiber intake. Diets low in fiber may
underlie or exacerbate constipation, appendicitis, hemorrhoids, deep-vein
thrombosis (a blood clot that forms in a vein deep within the body), varicose
veins, diverticulitis (inflammation of an abnormal pouch in the intestinal
wall), hiatal hernia, and gastroesophageal reflux. Fiber is thought to help
prevent colon cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

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