The Easiest Way to Work Extra Fiber into Your Diet

You hear about it every time you turn on the TV or listen to the radio: Americans aren't getting enough fiber. There are plenty of advertisements telling you how to get more fiber, but until recently, very few of them have sounded reasonable.

Maybe you like eating grain-based products made exclusively with whole grain, or mixing tall glasses of nasty orange fiber beverages, but if you don't there are a host of new solutions for the fiber-conscious. I visited my local drugstore the other day in search of a fiber supplement. I discovered three options that looked promising:

One was a tasteless fiber powder, meant to be mixed into foods and beverages throughout the day to give them a twist of fiber. This would be a good solution if you cook frequently, but it seemed to me like the type of thing I would forget to do after a few days, and I really didn't want to risk ruining my favorite recipes with this mystery ingredient. Also, this type of fiber was extraordinarily expensive, probably because it is a fairly new innovation.

The second product that caught my eye was a tasteless drink powder. It is to be mixed with water or any other beverage, and supposedly contributes all the fiber you need without any offending flavor. I was tempted by this option for a minute, but then began to doubt its amazing claims. Can I really believe that when I mix this stuff into my water I won't taste it? I'd rather enjoy my beverages, and get my fiber another way. Plus, I noticed a host of fiber tablets on the shelf, which made me wonder: why would I bother mixing up a potentially disgusting fiber sludge, when I could just as easily pop a tablet into my mouth?

So, I began searching the shelves for the most cost-effective, promising, tablet-based fiber product I could find, and eventually came out of the store with Sugar Free Benefiber Chewables, in the Assorted Fruit flavor. You're supposed to take three tablets per dose and three doses daily, and at first that worried me, because I'm usually repulsed by artificial fruit-flavored medicines. I tentatively took one, chewing it with trepidation, but to my delight, it didn't taste like children's medicine, or children's candy! The tablets are weirdly sweet, and the flavor isn't too strong. They're easy to take, you don't need water, and pretty good as far as fiber supplements go. I would highly recommend these, because I think they are probably one of the easiest, least expensive, and smartest ways to get a little extra fiber in your diet.