According to general recommendations, a woman should consume about 25 grams of fiber a day, while a man should consume about 35 grams a day, with approximately 5 to 10 grams of those being soluble fibres. However, statistics show that less than 20% of the population in Europe actually consumes this amount.

Do you think you consume enough? And why are the statistics so harsh? Is it really difficult to consume enough fiber?

The answer is — it’s not difficult if you stick to a couple of simple rules:

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Inhibitors reduce iron absorption by:

• Competing with iron – other divalent minerals (e.g., zinc, calcium, magnesium) compete with Fe²⁺ for absorption because they share the same transporter (like a revolving door allowing only one mineral at a time). 

• Binding iron – they form compounds with little to no solubility that trap iron, leading to its excretion.

Enhancers increase absorption by:

• Reducing iron – organic acids can convert Fe³⁺ to Fe²⁺, bypassing the need for reduction at the cell surface. 

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Health professionals love to say that you need to "eat the rainbow," meaning you should eat vegetables and fruits in a variety of colors—and for good reason. The color of these foods can indicate the bioactive compounds they contain because many of these compounds are also pigments. While most of them have an antioxidant potential, which is great in itself, each compound also offers more specific benefits. 

Here is what you can expect from each colour:

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I'm sure you've heard of the "five a day" recommendation. Most countries in Europe recommend consuming a minimum of five portions of vegetables and fruits daily. But how much is one portion, and how can you know if you've consumed enough?

The size of a portion can be measured and explained in several ways, which can be confusing at first, but it is roughly the same amount.

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If you are eating vegetables, fruits, and whole grain products, you are surely consuming fiber too. Dietary fiber is edible parts of plants that cannot be digested by human enzymes and therefore can't be absorbed in the human small intestine. Dietary fiber has various health benefits from prevention of constipation to slowing down sugar absorption and lowering cholesterol levels. But the benefits depend on the type of the fiber. 

And did you know that you can change the dietary fiber content in potatoes and grains depending on how you cook them?

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You have most likely heard about probiotics (live microorganisms that can provide a health benefit if consumed in large enough quantities) and prebiotics (compounds that probiotics can utilize or "feed on"), but have you heard about postbiotics? Postbiotics are non-viable (dead) microorganisms or parts of them as well as their metabolites (the products they produce).

While postbiotics haven't received as much attention as probiotics and prebiotics in the past, some authors argue that these might be just as important. 

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