 When people think fiber, they think constipation. And it's true, if we could get to Americans just to eat the minimum recommended daily intake of fiber-containing foods, we could save our country $80 billion, and that's just from the effects on constipation alone. Accumulating evidence indicates that greater dietary fiber intakes reduce risk for diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, weight gain, obesity, diverticular disease, as well as constipation. So we need to eat more fiber-rich foods, which means eating more whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes, bean, split peas, chickpeas, and lentils. As fiber intake goes up, the risk of metabolic syndrome appears to go down. Less inflammation and an apparent stepwise drop in obesity risk. And so, no surprise, perhaps, that greater dietary fiber intake is associated with a lower risk of heart disease— 9% lower risk for every additional 7 grams a day of total fiber consumed. That's just like some rice and beans, or a few servings of fruits and vegetables. How does fiber do its magic? What are the mechanisms by which dietary fiber may extend our lifespan? Helps get rid of excess bile, feeds our good bacteria, changes our gut hormones, which collectively helps control our cholesterol and body weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure, which reduces the risk for cardiovascular disease. Reducing inflammation is another mechanism by which fiber may help prevent chronic disease. The accompanying editorial to the Fiber and Heart Disease meta-analysis implored doctors to enthusiastically and skillfully recommend that patients consume more dietary fiber. That means a lot of whole plant foods. If, however, we do buy something packaged, the first word in the ingredients list should be whole, but then the rest of the ingredients could be junk. So a second strategy is to look at the ratio of grams of carbohydrates to grams of dietary fiber. We're looking for about 5 to 1 or less. So, for example, whole wheat, Wonder Bread, passes the first test, first word is whole, but then it's like corn syrup in a chemistry set. Let's see if it passes the 5 to 1 rule. What you do is divide the carbohydrates by the dietary fiber. 20 divided by 2.7 is about 7. That's more than 5, so it goes back on the shelf. They're then white though, which clocks in at over 18. Now here's one that makes the cut. 15 divided by 3 equals 5. Can do the same thing with breakfast cereal. Multi-green Cheerio sounds healthy, but there's a ratio over 7, and then it just goes downhill from there. Here's an example of one that does make the cut, though, sliding in under 4. The editorial concluded, the recommendation to consume diets with adequate amounts of dietary fiber may turn out to be the most important nutritional recommendation of all.