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Posted 2/5/2011 6:35 PM (GMT 0)
I know that eating fiber is a big deal and thought I would share something that I know about fiber. My Dad, who had terribly high cholesterol, did hours upon hours of research and made changes in his diet. Due to these changes he has been able to lower his cholesterol to normal limits, without any meds. One of the things he changed was the cereal he eats. I also started to eat this cereal when I made changes to my diet and life, and have been able to lose 90 pounds based on all of the changes, not just this cereal. But, here is the info, we buy it at our local health food stores. I believe my parents buy it by the case from some online health food store, you would have to google it! The brand is Arrowhead Mills, although I think there are probably other companies that make this. It is ORGANIC OAT BRAN hot cereal. It is like an oatmeal.

Serving is 1/3 cup (we put 1/3 cup of cereal with 2/3 cup water, place in microwave for 1 min 30 sec)
calories 130
calories from fat 25

Total fat 2.5g
cholesterol 0 mg
sodium 0 mg
potassium 150 mg
total carbohydrate 21 g
dietary fiber 4 g
sugars 0 g
protein 6 g

Once cooked you can sweeten as desired. I use brown sugar. My Dad uses maple syrup. Fresh fruit is great (strawberry season in NC is fantastic with this cereal) Michael uses homemade strawberry jam.


Have been told about bran buds and bran bud brownies, I have just taken some bran buds brownies out of the oven....they smell really good. I eat a big salad for dinner every night and one of the things I do is put the bran buds on my salad as a "crunchy" extra fiber, just another thought.

Just wanted to share, it is hard to get all that fiber we need!!!
Posted 2/5/2011 6:53 PM (GMT 0)
I find eating a six inch section of barb wire gives me all the iron and fiber I need, sure keeps your bowels super cleaned out.
Posted 2/5/2011 7:22 PM (GMT 0)
Purg, we all knew you are one tough guy.
Posted 2/5/2011 8:26 PM (GMT 0)
METAMUCIL
Posted 2/6/2011 12:20 AM (GMT 0)
I started eating plain bran flakes recently with berries. Delicious. Of course, some days I eat Cap'n Crunch, so it all balances out.
Posted 2/6/2011 12:24 AM (GMT 0)
I eat the newspaper after I have read it.
Posted 2/6/2011 1:24 AM (GMT 0)
Fiber is a must for me due to neuropathy and the meds. Cereral and fruit and snack bars are part of my daily staples. However you know you are aging when your conversations with friends turns to the subject of "regularity."
Michael
Posted 2/6/2011 9:10 AM (GMT 0)
Grinnell, I have heard that there are carcinogens in printers' ink. Have you considered that blank newsprint, before it has been through the press may be healthier? Considering all the chemicals that go into modern newsprint, might we be better cutting out the middle men and going directly for the wood chips?

Purgatory, I am curious about the barbed wire -- is that fresh or aged? It seems to me that fresh would be better as it has a higher zinc content. On the other hand, aged might be better with the steel component already being partly digested. Aged could have some added protein too -- spiders etc.

Compared to you guys, my bran flakes and muesli is plain unadventurous.
Posted 2/6/2011 1:16 PM (GMT 0)
Uh oh. I started this thread, does that mean I am now part of the older population having discussions about fiber and regularity???? WOW, when did I get old? I am only 41....amazing what conversations become normal. :-)
Posted 2/6/2011 3:32 PM (GMT 0)
Susan,

Good post, fiber is an excellent way of lowering ones LDL

My own breakfast brew that is not only very tasty ( yes kids will eat it) and is power packed includes

1) Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal
2) Ground Flax Seeds ( ground these yourself for most effective absorption)
3) Oat Bran
4) Quinoa
5) A few walnuts
6) some fresh fruit usually a Banana or if in season blueberries or blackberries

You will feel full well into lunchtime and in addition to the fiber it has lots of potassium, L-Arginine and Omega-3 ( BP and cholesterol aids)

Thats it, nothing else needed , it has a great nutty taste. I does 15-20minutes for the Quinoa and Steel Cut oats to cook but it its well worth the time

I make extra some days and form it into into cubes and keep cold, makes a great snack during the day

All , some or each of these ingredients can be incorporated in many day to day recipes.
Posted 2/6/2011 4:40 PM (GMT 0)
Piano,

I keep a 25' spool of fresh wire around at all times, the zinc is an added supplement.

On a serious note, I have been "regular" my whole life. I have never needed to take anything, and my "goings" are so regular you could set a watch by them, fortunate there.

David
Posted 2/7/2011 3:16 AM (GMT 0)
Don't be fooled by Purgatory's on-time claims. I have it on the best of authority that one visiting HWer did set his watch by David's doings but a check the next day against Greenwich Mean Time found him off by nearly two minutes.

On the spool of fresh barbed wire claim I can't confirm, but it does sound credible. 

As for breakfast, I am fed one poached egg every morning, unless traveling, when I order two poached eggs. I eat my egg about seven, and find I'm not hungry, or even think of food until one, or two, in the afternoon.

A doctor at Mayo once told me every fiber of their medical being cried out to tell me to stop eating so many eggs --- but as I had a cholesterol count most of their patients would kill for, I may as well go on enjoying my egg(s) for breakfast and egg salad sandwiches for lunch.


Sheldon AkA Sleepless
Posted 2/7/2011 5:17 AM (GMT 0)
Sheldon,

All I meant, was that I have never really suffered from consitpation. Even when I was on Loratabs for an entire year, they never blocked me up.

I have never had a cholesterol problem or bad number, so I tend to eat eggs as often as I want. Never more than 2 at a time, a lot of time, just one.

With the barb wire, some brands are better than others, and zinc is an acquired taste, I must admit. Stay away from razor wire though, way too much fiber effect, unless blood loss is your ultimate goal.

David
Posted 2/7/2011 7:34 AM (GMT 0)
Gee David:

No cholesterol problems, completely regular, no back problems, gets willy p and able to perform at will....

WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE ON HW

MEL

Posted 2/7/2011 11:39 AM (GMT 0)
If you want to lower your cholesterol don't eat meat. A few years back I had a bad tooth extracted. This condition left me unable to chew on one side of my mouth. Since I could not chew I quit eating meat. At the same time my annual blood test was taken. My doctor was amazed how my cholesterol droped to 118. Normally I'm well over 250. It's the meat in your diet that causes your cholesterol to jump. I since went back to eating meat and my cholesterol has skyrocketed.
Posted 2/7/2011 2:27 PM (GMT 0)
Cholesterol, as I understand it, comes from two sources: self-generated and from diet. I assume, just as self-generated can vary widely, the impact of diet must too. As noted earlier in this thread, my cholesterol over the years has been fine. I eat egg for breakfast, most often a bacon cheese burger for lunch, and lots of meat -- sausage, beef, pork, chicken --- for dinner, and it doesn't seem to hurt my cholesterol count. All that meat and those eggs may be doing other damage of course.

Perhaps I'll switch to an oatmeal and raisins diet --- I love both!

Matter-of-fact, when it comes to food there is very little I don't like to process through my 175 pound frame, which really needs to be a 160 pound frame at my age, 69, and height --- 5' 10" ( a guess, I used to be a shade under six feet, but as you age, you shrink, so I'm guessing somewhere around the 5'10" mark.)

And, David, thanks for the tip on the razor wire.  It may be 'cutting edge stuff' but I'll be sure to avoid it. 

Sheldon AKA Sleepless

Posted 2/7/2011 2:32 PM (GMT 0)
Susan - try making oatbran muffins with it. Great way to take the fiber with you for a snack. There was a recipe years ago on the box that I've kept and use every so often. Sweetened with honey, egg whites only - very healthy!
Posted 2/7/2011 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
In the old days when fish or fish and chips were wrapped in newspaper the local fish shop when I still lived in Engalnd would not wrap anything in the Times as that was said to have something poisonous in the ink. They use the same sort of paper these days but get it direct from the paper mill so there's nothing to read while you eat!!!

Fibrewise: I make up my own muesli which I have with cold semi-skimmed milk. I add extras to it like dried apricots, California Raisins and oatmeal, but as this is not how I like to eat nuts I have a mixture without nuts. (My wife has a mixture with nuts to which she adds extra nuts). Otherwise I have porridge to which I add raisins and chopped cristalised ginger for sweetener. We also eat a wholemeal bread called Allinsons.

Haven't had my cholesterol tested since bedfoee surgery, but I am just coming up to two year anniversary of the testing session that found the PCa so I will be off to doc again soon for all the other routine tests. Don't much like having to have the blood test done on an empty stomach!

Alf
(edited typo)

Post Edited (English Alf) : 2/7/2011 10:46:38 AM (GMT-7)

Posted 2/7/2011 4:24 PM (GMT 0)
gee mel, if i weren't such a cancer magnet, 4 major times so far, and on going pC, i might actually be healthy.
Posted 2/7/2011 4:38 PM (GMT 0)
I'm intrigued by the whole barbed wire thing. The best thing would be after you swallow it, to grab on to both ends and pull it back and forth a few times to loosen up the really hard chunks. For a bigger guy, though, 25 feet wouldn't quite do it, you'd need 30 to 40 feet, about 10 meters, to have enough loose ends to hang on to. Paul Bunyan, of course, would need quite a bit more.
Posted 2/11/2011 12:51 AM (GMT 0)
I have been doing a morning cocktail of unflavored unsweetened Metamucil mixed in a glass of orange juice. Regular as a digital clock and normal cholesterol for 30 years. And I like it and dont intend to give up my normal red meat diet. Tastes much better than barbed wire.
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