“Teach me to eat healthier.” It’s a common request for nutrition students, and we hear it often from friends and family. After being asked on multiple occasions, I decided I needed an answer more interesting than, “Don’t drink soda” for the thousandth time. It’s a valuable answer, and an important one, but it is a dead horse that’s been beaten enough. So I challenged myself to invent a response succinct enough to fit in the short attention span of the newly-met classmate, but still informative enough that the answer was useful. A more detailed explanation of my response is below.

Americans should focus on getting more fiber. On average, we eat about 14 grams per day. We need twice that. Fiber is so important because it makes us feel full after a meal, but supplies no Calories, so if we don’t get enough, we usually eat other Calorie-supplying nutrients in order to feel full. If we only eat half the fiber we need for a whole year (as the average American does), we will theoretically have eaten enough extra Calories to gain almost six pounds just because we didn’t consume enough fiber.

Recent research is showing even further benefits to adequate fiber intake. Because it is indigestible by our body, fiber is used by gut bacteria in the large intestine. These bacteria, once thought to be inconsequential, are now the center of modern nutrition research and have been shown to affect everything from gut health to psychological functions. Some researchers have even hypothesized that a healthy gut microbiome can result in fewer allergies and intolerances.

Another reason to ensure adequate fiber intake is intestinal health. Fibrous material in the digestive system is hygroscopic — meaning it soaks up water easily. To test this out, take a piece of oatmeal or cereal and soak it in water. It will soak up liquid and become softer. Why is this important? Imagine you are the inner lining of the small intestine, and it is your job to push food down towards the colon. If the food is hard and unyielding, over time you could damage your intestine (diverticulosis/itis). But if a food is soft and mushy thanks to fiber content, your intestine will remain healthy. This is why fiber intake is so important to colon health (and why bathroom trips are more pleasant for those with sufficient fiber intake).

To ensure you get enough fiber, maximize your fruit and vegetable intake and look for unprocessed, fresh foods. Animal products don’t contain fiber, so try substituting beans for meats when possible. By eating fibrous foods, you will increase your plant intake and inadvertently eat more healthy vitamins and minerals which is a nice side perk. The benefits I’ve listed here are only a small part of what makes fiber so important, so if you only improve on one area of your diet, make it fiber.