A NEXT COVID SUBVARIANT?

If you keep up with nutrition, a high fiber diet is generally recommended for a healthy life.  However, there are some who are advised to stick to a LOW-fiber diet.  These individuals usually have medical problems related to their bowels or following certain types of cancer treatment.

What particularly confuses me is that list to the left.  I thought asparagus, corn grits, lettuce and tomatoes had a lot fiber.

But most of us are reasonably normal and are advised to maximize (but see my comment on this term towards the end) fiber input, for that diet will help you:

• 
  Normalize bowel movements.
• Lower cholesterol levels.
• Control blood sugar levels.
• Aid in achieving a healthy weight.
• Increase longevity.

There are two kinds of fibers--soluble and insoluble--and they both are good for you.  Simply, fiber is the indigestible part of plants and carbohydrates. 

Men (38 grams/day), because they are heavier, need more fiber than women (25 ounces/day), and the amount decreases with older age.  The best high fiber foods include:

• Beans, where steamed soy beans, or edamame, make for an especially good snack.  There is a double bonus in the protein they supply.  Some bakers have begun to replace wheat flour with bean flour.
• Broccoli in particular keeps your gut bacteria healthy.
• Berries are great for anti-oxidants, and also are relatively low in calories with high fiber content.  Blueberries are generally high on the recommendation list.

• 
  Avocados have become the trendy darling of this group, for:
• They lower LDL.
• Are high in vitamins.
• Good for vision and your immune system.
• Contain lots of monounsaturated fat.
• One avocado has 10 grams of fiber, almost half of your daily requirement.

• 
  But, ah, watch out:
• One avocado contains 240 calories, which can be 20% the amount needed by certain individuals.  
• Half an avocado/day is the medical recommendation.
• Of course, it will all depend on the size of the avocado.  That larger 230 gram Hass avocado is half a pound.
• So it can get confusing about what half means.
• Avocados have skyrocketed in price.  
• One Hass avocado averages more than $2/each nationally.
• I yesterday would have paid $5 for two Hass avocados in Times Supermarket.
• I noticed that Wallmart advertises a Hass for $1.08/fruit, with no indication of weight.
• 
  Going back in time, avocado remnants have been found in Incan burial sites of 750 BC, and were called testicles.
• Spanish conquistadors promoted the farming of this fruit in Central and South America.
• After avocados almost disappeared for a while, they returned into markets in the early 1900's as a delicacy for the wealthy, and called the aristocrat of salad fruit.

• 
  Avocados take a lot of resources, as for example, a pound of fruit takes about 100 gallons of water to grow.  Thus, there has been a recent backlash about eating avocados from organizations worried about water supply and rights.
• Supply dropped in the 1980's when people became obsessed with losing weight.
• 
  What spurred the growth of avocados in the U.S. was that in 2005 the USDA lifted a 90-year ban of Mexican avocados.  This led to mob cartels extorting avocado farmers, but the resultant reliability and lower price increased consumption.

• 
  Now the biggest day for avocados in the USA is Super Bowl Sunday, when over 100 million pounds are mostly used to make guacamole.  Considering that much of everything else consumed that day is bad for your health, avocados do help to somewhat balance your diet that day.  But, again, watch out for the calories.
• 
  Avocados these days are many times sent to ripening centers, where additional ethylene gas is utilized.  Natural ethylene is produced by this fruit, so if kept in a paper bag, this tends to hasten ripening.  But the mass market provides pressure to cut this period even shorter, and also time the ripening to meet marketing needs.

• 
  Another thing about avocados has to do with mold.
• The mold on the skin of an avocado is white or gray.
• The brown and black colors in the flesh is normally just bruising or oxidation.
• However, if the exterior has obvious mold, you need good judgement:
• Cut open, and if blemished, throw away the entire fruit.
• Cut open, and if perfectly greenish-yellow, should be fine.
• The problem is that there will be numerous occasions when you don't see any mold on the outside skin, but cutting into the fruit will many times show a brown or black discoloration.  You kind of hate to toss away something that cost you $2, so you compromise by slicing off the blemish and eat the good part.  But is this smart?  
• While this sounds gross, most of the time, consumption of some mold will not make you sick.  You eat various kinds of molds like in blue cheese.  Molds generally don't have any toxin.  This report indicates that this doctor in 30 years of practice has never seen anyone die or require intense treatment due to mold poisoning.  
• 
  However, two bacteria, salmonella and listeria,  have been known to cause illness from avocado.  Unfortunately, there are no obvious signs of bacteria-contaminated avocado.  The best solution is to carefully wash the outside of any avocado, for the way microorganisms can be transferred to the flesh is when the fruit is cut open.  
• Annually, listeria from avocados kills an average of 260 Americans, and salmonella 450.
• 
  Personally, I prefer the Sharwil (a little more oblong or pear shape) over Hass (more spherical, right), which is the most abundant nationally, with 97% of avocado sales.  For one, the weather in Hawaii favors the Sharwil (below), and 60% of the avocados grown here are of this type.  They ripen from March into November, when the flesh is 20-24% oil.  I grew up tasting Sharwils, and the Hass does not have the distinctive Sharwil flavor.

• 
  Popcorn.  You would think with all that volume, this should be avoided.  But that is the reason you can eat this snack.  The problem is, who can consume popcorn without butter and salt?  I rarely so indulge, but the other day I picked up a package made available for free at 15 Craigside, topped with some arare (tiny Japanese crackers), and had the whole bag with an Irish whiskey on rocks.  Also, I noticed that a ot of butter and salt was used in the machine.  I live to eat.
• 
  Whole grains...but what really is whole grain by FDA interpretation?  Just bought a box of multi grain Cheerios, which looks different from the traditional, which is called whole grain.
• Apples.  Four grams of fiber in an apple.  Remember that around 30 grams/day is about right for the average person.  I walked at the Ala Wai Golf Course on Wednesday and my lunch for the day was an apple at the 10th hole.
• Dried fruits like prunes and dates.
• Amazingly enough...potatoes.  One small potato has 3 grams of fiber.  But avoid frying in oil and adding salt.  I still worry about the calories.  At least potato chips are not as bad as I once thought. Not good, mind you, but, as I said, I live to eat.  Potatoes also protect the intestinal wall from potentially harmful chemicals.
• Nuts, raw over those cooked in oil.  Even peanut butter has good fiber.  That oil at the top of the jar is natural oil from the peanut.  Don't throw that away.

There are, of course, companies willing to help you with your fiber needs.  Metamucil and Citrucel are two examples.  There is evidence that too much fiber can cause bloating, gas, and even constipation.  These supplements can also compromise the effectiveness of other pills you might take.  The key point is that there is such a thing as too much fiber.

It's a little more complicated for me, as gas affects my sleeping and induces apparent psychological problems, like claustrophobia, which disappears after I burp a few times.  Watch out for nutrition bars, for they are usually the reason why you would exceed 70 grams/day.

While a breakfast of oatmeal, lunch of broccoli with soy beans and piece of chicken, and dinner with fish and lentils might be recommended for better health, I have tended to toss in wagyu beef and other proteins with regularity, plus no-fiber alcohol into my meal mix.  While diet people say it's not as simple as calories in equaling calories out to maintain weight, I think that's a good start, and mine seems to be in control these days using that philosophy, while generally avoiding snacks and desserts, and adding enhancements like wagyu to bring joy to my life.

My meal of the week came last night:  Miyazaki wagyu beef with shiitake mushrooms, plus sashimi:

Ahi and hamachi sashimi over cabbage and sea asparagus:

The drinks were especially exceptional.  For a while I thought it would be the wine.  Have story here, for forty years ago when I was working in the U.S. Senate, I stopped by Central Liquor late one Friday afternoon, and asked if there was any special wine available.  The person working there said they just got a shipment of an extraordinary Pinot Noir from Mirassou, which would be a once in a lifetime experience.  Cost, $20.  I bought a bottle, but the clerk insisted I should get a case.  One of my bigger mistakes for not doing so, for that red was the best I had ever tasted.  Went back on Monday, and they were sold out.  Well, anyway, yesterday I went to Walgreens, and on the way out noticed this bottle of Mirassou Pinot Noir, for less than $10.  Bought it and it tasted great, but on afterthought, I think that 1980 experience was a Mirassou Zinfandel.  Mirassou was bought out by Gallo in 2003, and I don't think you can find a Zinfandel by Mirassou today.

I felt like celebrating so also had a Johnny Walker Blue Label over ice:

What a meal.

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