Do most healthy diets contain enough fiber?

No, the problem with our diet today is that everyone focuses on what goes into their diet when the most important thing – high quality fiber -- has actually been taken out of our foods.  The other issue is that many people have increased their fiber intake, but they don’t realize that it is the wrong type of fiber, nor do they realize that often they need a laxative to get the GI tract working as it should. The book explains all this.

If food smells good, why the bathroom odor? Food sitting inside you too long will putrefy – this is why bathroom odor is the norm in our country. Healthy bathroom odor should be more akin to the faint scent at a grocery store.  The late renowned Dr. Denis Burkitt said that the USA is a constipated nation and that is why we have so much coronary heart disease, reflux, gallbladder disease, colon cancer, appendicitis, diverticulitis, varicose veins and hemorrhoids. To this list, I have added irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), most types of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and sometimes even low grade depression and fatigue.

What do you hope to accomplish with the publication of your book?

Turn medical research upside down in addition to helping people with reflux/heartburn (15-20% of the US population), IBS (10-15%), abdominal gas problems (20%), not to mention preventing or delaying the onset of many of the illnesses listed above.

If I was out grocery shopping, what fiber items would you recommend?

Surprisingly, most whole wheat, whole grain breads and pastas do not generally contain the right type of fiber that your gut needs.  Fruits and vegetables are also fine to eat from a nutritional point of view, but most also do not contain the right type of fiber that your gut needs, and again the book explains why this is so.  High fiber cereals like All~Bran, Fiber One and Kashi are excellent “good for the gut” fiber sources.  But most people cannot or will not eat a high fiber cereal twice a day and that is where the fiber supplements are necessary.  Also, trying to get all your fiber in once a day can be a problem.  Since fiber is designed to hold water and if you are consuming too much fiber at one time, the water may not effectively penetrate into the fiber and thus the fiber may remain too dry.  In this case, excessive fiber may actually cause constipation and gas issues.

Also, when my patients first start fiber, I recommend beginning with a synthetic fiber product (Benefiber or Citrucel) as these are less prone to cause gas and cramps.  However, I think that high fiber cereals, psyllium and also inulin products are in the long run excellent fiber sources.

Is your book sponsored by Kellogg’s Raisin Bran or other manufacturer?

I have no sponsors for the book. This book was “home-grown.”

There's a multi-billion dollar business behind getting people to eat over-processed foods. What do you think your chances are of successfully getting your message out?

I am convinced that the word will get out. People are desperate for useful information, especially IBS patients and those who worry about getting cancer or Alzheimer’s disease.  Also, people with trapped gas issues and reflux are searching for help so that they would be able to take less medicine or discontinue it altogether.

Any recommendations for snacks? 

In my experience, most fiber bars do not contain the right type of fiber that your gut needs. The Gnu fiber bar (has four flavors) is the exception containing 12 gm of quality fiber, but is not readily available except on-line. For instance three Metamucil bars are roughly equal to one Gnu wafer in fiber content.  Kellogg’s All~Bran Bran Buds cereal is quite palatable and people can eat it right out of the box or put in yogurt, but the problem is that you may eat too much, or not enough if you don’t measure it.

Does your fiber program really work for IBS patients?

Ninety percent of my IBS patients (whichever type you have) do very well with my three-step fiber program — even those who thought they were allergic to fiber. I actually tell my patients that contrary to the medical literature, they do not have to learn to live with their illness, rather they can learn how to effectively manage it. 

Finally, while high fiber diets are recommended everywhere, no one explains what this means in the bathroom nor how to get there. And, I do not recommend any more fiber than what dietitians and manufacturers advise.  My fiber dose may vary from the manufacturer, but the 24 hour dose remains the same. 

Is this book for everyone or was it written for health professionals like doctors and nurses?

This book was written for everyone.  In fact, I have frequently heard comments like, “It reads just like you were talking to me” and others have said, “It’s a book that is hard to put down.”  One lady even said that it was “a page turner” for her.