If your mom always made you eat your oatmeal when you were young, she just may have given you a boost in the fight against cancer.

Oatmeal is loaded with fiber, and adequate-to-heavy fiber consumption has been shown to possibly decrease the risk of colorectal and other cancers. Diets high in fiber may also decrease one’s chances of developing heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

"Foods that are high in fiber are also low in fat and full of vitamins, minerals and complex carbohydrates," says Dr. Evelyn Crayton, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System nutritionist. "You can’t go wrong eating fiber-rich foods. Fiber helps your body digest foods properly and is an important part of our daily diet."

Everyone needs to eat more fiber, including children, she says.

To calculate how many grams of fiber your child should get each day, simply add five to his age. For example, a two-year-old child needs seven grams of fiber a day. A five-year-old needs 10 grams of fiber daily. The calculations work through age 18.

After that, adults need about 25 grams of fiber a day.

Fiber is easy to add to your diet, Crayton says. For breakfast, try eating oatmeal, bran cereal topped with fresh fruit, whole bran muffins or even whole bran waffles. For lunch and supper, try switching to whole wheat bread and adding legumes on the side.

When snacking, try raw fruits and veggies, nuts and popcorn. Fruits and nuts such as apples, berries, figs, pecans and almonds are tasty sources of fiber that are quick and easy to grab on the go. When munching on foods like apples and baked potatoes, eat the skins, too, for extra fiber.

When cooking, add fiber to your food by baking with whole-wheat flour and adding bran to recipes like meat loaf.

Crayton says legumes are excellent sources of fiber. They include baked beans, kidney beans, split peas, dried limas, pinto beans and black beans. Cold bran cereals also pack a lot of fiber, as do oatmeal and hot cereals such as cream of wheat and wheat bran.

Broccoli, lima beans, green peas, dried fruit, apricots and dates are all good sources of fiber, she says. So are raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. Bananas, cherries, carrots and nuts, including Brazil nuts, peanuts and walnuts are also good sources of fiber.

SOURCE: Dr. Evelyn Crayton, (ecrayton@aces.edu), Extension Foods and Nutritionist Specialist, Alabama Cooperative Extension System, (334) 844-2224