More and more nutritionists' recommendations emphasize on the increase of fiber intake. As it has been shown analyzing the way most people eat, the tendency of modern diets is to exclude or not ensure enough dietary fiber.

One of the important shortcomings of the popular Atkins diet is that it worsens this deficit, by restricting the intake of foods rich in fiber, coming on an already poor in fiber dietary background.

The average of a daily fiber intake while on Atkins is around 8 grams. The recommended amount is 25 grams to 30 grams of fiber per day.

Fiber plays an essential role in the maintenance of a good digestion and health. There are two types of fiber:

• soluble fiber as gums and pectines, found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. These fibers attract water and turn to gel during digestion, thus slowing digestion and the rate of nutrient and sugar absorption. This type of fiber prevents high cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes, by regulating the blood sugar.
• insoluble fiber, found in wheat bran, vegetables and whole grains. This kind of fiber speeds the passage of foods through the stomach and colon. It helps prevent serious conditions such as colon diseases — colon cancer, diverticulosis.

Also, another beneficent effect of a high-fiber diet is a good influence on losing body weight: fibers such as cellulose and hemicellulose have a filling effect, determining a decreased food intake.

An answer to this frequently occurring problem could be the fiber candy and tablets produced by the company CNS, developer of innovative health care products.

• the tropical orange fiber drops are low-sugar, hard candy sweets each containing 2 grams of roughage;
• the chewable tablets are orange flavored, available in both regular and sugar-free version and contain 4 grams of fiber per dose. New assorted fruit flavors will include green apple, grape and strawberry creme.

This offer will interest a large segment of customers and particularly Atkins dieters, as it offers a solution to a problem affecting more than 70 per cent of those on Atkins (as shown in a study by the Atkins Center for Complimentary Medicine, more than 70 per cent of Atkins followers had suffered constipation as a side effect).

CNS will start shipping these products to retailers in March 2005.