Fibre in your Diet

Dr. Mandelbaum sees many patients for issues and complaints that can be improved drastically by having a sufficient amount of insoluble fibre in your diet.  Problems that can often be treated by increasing your fibre include, irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, hemorrhoidal bleeding, anal fissure and anal itching.

In Canada most people do not consume enough insoluble fibre.  In Canada many people consume a diet that has an excessive amount of highly processed white carbohydrate.  

If you are coming to the office Dr Mandelbaum is very likely to tell you the following, and this advice can be useful for everyone:

•  Avoid all white carbohydrates.  These include white bread, white rice, white pasta and regular potato.

•  If you do eat rice/bread/pasta make it brown, or whole wheat. (but still eat little of these)

•  You should eat 4 servings of raw fruit every day minimum.  Unfortunately bananas are constipating.

•  You should eat one large raw green salad every day.  Kale, spinach, lettuce, arugula, sprouts, carrots, celery etc.  

•  You can include in your salad nuts, berries and especially olive oil.  Olive oil is very good for you and will help make you feel like you have had enough to eat.  Protein such as chicken, meats and fish are great to add to your salad.

•  Fibre supplements such as Restoralax and metamucil are encouraged and can be taken every day.  

Adhering to the diet above will help you lose weight, get diabetes under control, reduce colon cancer risk and make you feel much better.

When starting we suggest getting into it gradually, easing into it over a few weeks.  An abrupt change can make it more likely that you will not sustain the change.