8 DAYS TILL GRADULATION!!!!!

Happy birthday..one more time!!!!

Finally I got to take Greg out for his B-day celebration. It was delayed by my lack of days off from work. So we meet up with Karen and Joe and went to our local wing joint for some dinner. So there were wings galore, beer, and all the wet naps we needed. Laughter a plenty...but that's normal. After dinner the boys played a boxing game the rated your punch. Greg got the score 800 something which classified him as superman, and Joe scored 700 something which titled him killer. That thought it was pretty fun and Karen and I laughted some more!!!!

I have all kinds of pictues I'd like to share but I can't get them to load with my slow connection...bummer..


FANTASTIC FIBER: Part II
7 HEALTH BENEFITS OF FIBER

1. Fiber curbs overeating. Fibers are filling without fattening. High fiber foods require more chewing, and the prolonged chewing, besides pre-digesting the food, satisfies the appetite so you eat less. Fiber stays in the stomach longer, absorbs water, swells, and helps the eater feel full. Because of this feeling of fullness, people on high fiber diets tend to eat more slowly and eat less, especially less fat. Best fibers for weight control are bran and the pectin from fruits.

2. Fiber steadies your blood-sugar level. Fiber, especially the soluble type, found in psyllium, bran, and legumes slows the absorption of sugar from the intestines. This steadies the blood sugar level and lessens the ups and downs of insulin secretion. Keeping insulin levels low and stable also helps the body store less fat, another perk for people trying to control their weight.

4. Fiber reduces cholesterol. A diet high in soluble fiber, such as that found in oat bran, whole oats, psyllium, legumes, barley, fruit, and prunes, lowers blood levels of the harmful type of cholesterol (LDL) without lowering the good cholesterol (HDL) levels. As it travels down the intestines, soluble fiber absorbs water and forms a gluey gel which picks up cholesterol and carries it out of the body. Yet, doctors caution, adding more soluble fibers to your diet is not a license to eat high cholesterol foods. High fiber diets are usually low in fat, too, and the cholesterol-lowering effects may be related to less fat in the diet as well as to fiber. Recent studies showed that eating an extra ten grams of fiber daily (the average American adult eats only eleven grams of fiber a day), decreased the risk of dying from heart disease by 17-29 percent.

5. Fiber promotes regularity. Insoluble fibers, mainly the cellulose in skins of fruits and vegetables and the husks of grains help prevent constipation; their sponge effect absorbs a lot of water into the stools, making them soft and bulky. This type of stool stimulates the intestines to contract in an undulating way, called peristalsis, which sweeps stools along -- the broom effect of fiber. In cultures that typically eat higher fiber diets, people tend to produce stools that are softer, larger, and more frequent, unlike the smaller, harder, and less frequent stools associated with the typical Western diet.

6. Fiber reduces cancer risk. While soluble fiber helps protect against cardiovascular diseases, insoluble fiber protects against colon cancer. The incidence of colon cancer is significantly lower in cultures where people eat lots of high-fiber food. Increasing your consumption of insoluble fiber, such as that found in whole grains, especially wheat bran (i.e., All-Bran) is one of the most effective dietary changes you can make to decrease your risk of colon cancer.

7. Fiber is a family food. In addition to being friendly to aging bowels, fiber is also valuable for school-age children, mainly because it delays the absorption of sugars from the food into the bloodstream, making the blood sugars more stable - and, consequently, making the children more likely to behave and learn better. Send your child off to school with a breakfast containing at least 5 grams of fiber, the amount contained in a medium-fiber cereal and one serving of fruit

Are next installment coming soon!!!!!
FANTASTIC FIBER: PART III
HOW MUCH FIBER DO YOU NEED?
After reading our Fun Fantastic Fiber information you have everything you need to get on your way to better health! Recipes and other ways to boost your fiber will be coming the Blog in the near future too!!!! I know were are excited so you should be too!!!