Imagine eating 12 pounds of food a day -- and still staying thin and healthy. That may sound crazy, but it’s exactly what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate for millennia! And they didn't have any obesity or chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or dementia.

Of course, I wouldn't advise anyone today to eat 12 pounds of food, because the food in our society lacks one major secret ingredient that our ancestors ate in nearly all their food -- fiber!

Fiber has so many health benefits that I want to focus on it in this week's blog. I’ll explain some of its benefits and give you 9 tips you can begin using today to get more fiber in your diet. I’ll also tell you about my favorite “super-fiber” that can help you increase your total fiber intake overnight.

But before I tell you about what fiber can do for you, let's a look a little more at the history of fiber.

There is now a way you can boost your metabolism without changing how much you eat. It's true. You can rev up your metabolic engine, feel more satisfied when you eat, burn more calories, and lose more body fat -- all without even changing how MUCH you eat.

Recent studies show how three key changes can help you accomplish your weight loss goals without changing the amount you eat. They are:

1. Meal timing and meal frequency -- In other words, when you eat and how often.

2. Meal composition -– Specifically the role of protein in controlling appetite centers in your brain, increasing caloric burning, and reducing belly fat and weight.

3. Drinking green tea -- Which turns up your fat burning thermostat.

All three of these things have one very important concept in common: thermogenesis -- the creation of heat in your body. When you increase the thermogenesis in your body you literally turn up your metabolic fire.

Thermogenesis has nothing to do with the amount of calories you consume. It's controlled by a number of different interconnected control systems in the body designed to keep us healthy. By optimizing these systems you can turn up your metabolic fire without turning down the foods you love.

Today I will explain how the three key factors outlined above affect thermogenesis and give you a 5-step plan to increase your metabolic fire. Let's start by taking a look at the first thing that increases thermogenesis -- when and how often you eat.

Confused about what "good nutrition" is?

You shouldn't be -– we know what works and what doesn't.

In a moment, I will share 5 simple tips to help you optimize your nutrition and achieve vibrant health, but first let me clear up a few misconceptions.

Despite the "conflicting" scientific studies and media reports designed to confound rather than enlighten, there is no confusion about what constitutes good nutrition.

If we were to gather the world's top nutrition scientists and experts —- free from food industry influence -- there would be very little debate about the essential properties of good nutrition.

Unfortunately, most doctors are nutritionally illiterate. Worse, they don’t know how to use the most powerful medicine available to them: food.

Common sense and scientific research both lead us to the conclusion that if we want healthy bodies, we must put the right raw materials into our bodies: real, whole, local, fresh, unadulterated, unprocessed, and chemical-, hormone-, and antibiotic-free food.

There is NO role in our diets for foreign molecules such as trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup, which interfere with our biology at every level.

If you want junk out, put junk in. Enough said.

If you want a whole, healthy body, put in whole real food.

Today I will explain how you can do that ...

This is the first in a 7-part series where I will give detailed explanations about each of the 7 Keys to UltraWellness. Key #1 is Optimize Nutrition, and in this blog I will explain what constitutes a healthy diet, give you some tips to help you optimize your nutrition, and clarify whether or not supplements are truly a waste of money.

Dr. Hyman is on vacation, so today's blog is a guest editorial prepared especially for The UltraMetabolism Blog subscribers by the health editors of www.SixWise.com...

There's no doubt about it. Christmas, Hanukah, New Year's Eve and the other holidays that occur during this season are a time for family bonding, reflection, and fun.

But when you're committed to health and fitness, this can also be a frustrating time of the year.

That's because you can find yourself surrounded by bad food choices.

And the temptation to eat these foods -- and lots of them -- feels like it's everywhere, from office holiday parties to gatherings with family and friends.

If you've ever overindulged during the holidays, you're probably all too familiar with the results.

Most of us slightly overestimate how much we gain during this season.

Imagine eating 12 pounds of food a day -- and still staying thin and healthy.

Sounds crazy, right?

Well, that's exactly what our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate for millennia!

And they didn't have any obesity or chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or dementia.

Of course, I wouldn't advise anyone today to eat 12 pounds of food, because the food in our society lacks one major secret ingredient that our ancestors ate in nearly all their food -- fiber!

Fiber has so many health benefits that I've made it the entire focus of this week's blog.

But before I tell you about what fiber can do for you, let's a look a little more at the history of fiber.