Fiber: The Diet Workhorse

Fiber has many health benefits, from lowering cholesterol levels to keeping you feeling full longer. Find out which high-fiber foods to add to your diet.

If you're trying to diet and finding it too tough to restrict calories because you're always starving, fiber may be just what you're lacking. "It keeps you feeling fuller for longer," says Sandra Meyerowitz, MPH, RD, a nutritionist and owner of Nutrition Works in Louisville, Ky. "You don't get as hungry as quickly, so it helps when somebody's trying to cut back on calories."

Eating a Rainbow Every Day

Though you can’t literally eat a rainbow, you can consume a rainbow of colors in your produce.  Because beneficial vitamins and phytochemicals are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables, to get enough of them in your diet means consuming a spectrum of produce.  Certain colors are equated with certain nutrients*, too, such as orange and the antioxidant beta-carotene.  Foods sharing the same color have specific properties that target specific diseases.  Cancer experts recommend eating from each of the following rainbow groups daily as a measure of prevention: