Another study shows supplements don't measure up to real foods

It seems like such a simple solution to the problem: Not getting enough fiber? Just pop a couple fiber pills or stir one of those new tasteless, colorless powders into any beverage. Problem solved.

Well, maybe not entirely.  A recent study suggests that fiber supplements don't seem to provide the same benefits as eating a diet that contains fiber-rich foods. This doesn't surprise me.  Over and over again, we see that isolating individual nutrients from foods (or synthesizing them in labs) and then taking them as supplements doesn't seem to have the same effect as eating more of the foods that contain these nutrients naturally. 

Why? Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that our bodies are designed/adapted to benefit from the way nutrients are found in the natural food supply--and they don't occur in isolation or in mega-doses in nature.  They are found in complex, synergistic combinations.

A lot of what nutrition scientists think they know about nutrients and how they affect health is derived from dietary studies. They might observe, for example, that people who eat a lot of carrots have fewer hangnails. Carrots are, of course, extremely high in beta-carotene. Therefore, they hypothesize that beta-carotene might prevent hangnails. They even find that beta-carotene displays hangnail-reducing activity in test tubes. And yet, when they test the effects of beta-carotene supplementation on humans, they don't see any reduction in hangnails. Carrots might prevent hangnails, and it might even be the beta-carotene that's mostly responsible, yet beta-carotene supplements don't seem to have the same effect.

I'm using a silly example, of course. But my point is that whenever we try to focus our scientific lens on individual nutrients and their alleged effects on health, we are inevitably also seeing the effects of components that we haven't even identified yet--and these, unfortunately, get left out of the pill!

Now, I'm not completely against supplementation.  There are plenty of good reasons to use nutritional supplements--both preventively and therapeutically. For example, for populations that do not or cannot eat a lot of ocean fish, fish oil supplements can help prevent omega-3 and vitamin D deficiencies.  If calcium intake from foods is (or has been) insufficient, calcium supplementation can help slow bone loss. And so on.

But I do think that we should aim to get as much of our nutrients from foods as we possibly can.  And this study is just one more reason why.

Most Americans get only about half of the recommended amount of fiber each day (25-30 grams). Although fiber is technically a "non-nutritive" substance, because it doesn't contain any calories, vitamins, or minerals, it's still absolutely essential to good health. It clear toxins, waste, cholesterol, and excess hormones from your body, provides food for the friendly bacteria that (hopefully) live in your gut, and helps control weight by keeping hunger pangs at bay.

But before you head to the drug store to fill the gap, see what you can do to increase your intake of natural fiber sources.  What are they found? Primarily in the old stand-bys: vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.

Some of my favorite ways to fulfill my daily fiber requirement?

• Edamame (steamed soybeans): 8 grams per cup
• Lentil soup: 16 grams per cup
• Raspberries: 8 grams per cup
• Avocado: 8 grams per half
• Artichokes: 10 grams per artichoke