1. The Non-Nutrients
Fiber & Water

2. Dietary fiber is not a nutrient necessary to regulate digestion
appears to prevent some epidemiological diseases.

3. DEFINITIONS:
WATER: a compound composed of two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Water is the most important of all the essential nutrients, since human life cannot be sustained without water.
FIBER: A loose term denoting the substances in plant food that are not digested by human digestive enzymes. It provides almost no calories.
CRUDE FIBER: The residue of plant food remaining after extraction with acid and alkali.
DIETARY FIBER: The residue of plant food resistant to hydrolysis by human digestive enzymes. (l gm crude fiber = 2-4 gm dietary fiber.)

4. What is Fiber? many plants that we eat for food contain cellulose
which is not broken down, digested and used by our body
It is tough and stringy
essential for regulating the body.
It helps to move food through the body and aids digestion by
(1) attracting water to the small and large intestines
(2) the water increases bulk in foods
keeps the mass of fiber, food particles, digestive juices soft and moving though the system.

5. Why eat Fiber? protective agent for certain diseases colon cancer,
Diverticulosis--weakened areas of the intestinal wall (like blow-outs in a car tire
coronary heart disease
. Because so many of the foods eaten in the United States are processed and refined, much of the fiber-rich parts are removed. MyPyramid recognizes this and suggests that one half of choices from the Grains Group be whole grains. Whole grains, raw fruits and vegetables are the best sources of fiber as are legumes, nuts and seeds. Foods from animals, such as meat, milk, eggs, and cheese do not contain fiber.

6. How Much fiber? There is no recommended Dietary Allowance for fiber
20 to 35 grams of dietary fiber per day.
Americans are currently consuming much less than the recommendation.

7. SOURCES: Fiber is found only in foods of plant origin. fruits,
vegetables,
nuts,
Peas
legumes.
grains.

8. Grain Kernels The wheat kernel has three main parts: The germ The bran
reproduces when planted,
contains concentrated food to maintain new life.
vitamins and minerals, fat, iron, and protein.
The bran
protective coating
is rich in nutrients and fiber.
The endosperm
soft inside part of the kernel
contains starch and proteins.
the flour has the ability to form a stretchy protein called gluten.
Gluten allows a lacy network of air bubbles to be baked in, making bread light and soft.
Nutrition-conscious people are concerned about the loss of nutrients from the wheat kernel during the milling process. Many years ago, grains were milled by grinding them between two stones to expose the soft interior. The chaff or husk was then blown away. Important nutrients were left in the grains. As improvements were made in milling machinery, a whiter, smooth-textured flour resulted, and people came to look on it as being preferable to the crunchy, dark-brown, old fashioned flour. But where whole wheat flour uses the entire wheat kernel, white flour only uses the endosperm.

9. The Enrichment Act of 1942
standardized the return of lost nutrients to commercial flour.
iron, thiamin, and niacin have been restored to the levels found in whole wheat.
However, this restoration did not restore the fiber.
Whole grain contains fiber.

10. THE IMPORTANCE OF WATER:
8 glasses of water daily
more if participating in sports or exercising.
Water is the most critical nutrient for sustaining life.
Two-thirds of the human body is water.
As a comparison, our bodies are 60% water by weight; raw meat is about 75% water and fruits and vegetables up to 95% water. It may take us weeks to starve, but only a very few days to dehydrate. About 3/4 of our water is contained within individual cells. Of the rest, most is fluid surrounding the cells, with a small amount in the blood plasma. Outside the cells, water is a means of transporting nutrients and wastes, a physical cushion, a lubricant. When exhaled or perspired, water removes excess heat energy from the body. Within the cell, it is the solvent in which all chemical interactions occur. Water is not represented on MyPyramid because the U.S.D.A. assumes people in the United States will drink adequate amounts of water.

11. Water and minerals need proper balance.
When the sodium ions in the blood are increased,
water in the cells is drawn from the cells into the blood plasma.
If an excess of sodium, so much water is drawn into the blood plasma that high blood pressure can develop and put a dangerous strain on the heart and vascular system.

12. Water is needed in the body for many reasons:
Water is used to move nutrients through the digestive tract.
Water is needed to remove waste products.
Water acts as a diluter.
Fiber absorbs water thus allowing waste products to move freely through the digestive tract, and thus preventing toxic waste from accumulating.
Water is a heat regulator. It helps the body temperature to stay the same.
Water is a solvent necessary in the production of and maintaining body cells.
Water helps coat and lubricate body joints.