Your Good Health: Bran not the only good source of fiber

Dear Dr. Donohue: My doctor wants me to eat more fiber to help me get over constipation, and he suggests that I get some bran. I don’t have the foggiest idea what bran is. Can you buy it in a grocery store? — P.C.

Answer: Bran is the outer coat of grains. It’s the stuff that’s removed when grains are refined to make flour.

I don’t know if all grocery stores have bran, but most health-food stores stock it.

The recommended daily amount of fiber is 20 to 30 grams. Thirty grams is 1 ounce. A half-cup of wheat bran contains 12.5 grams of fiber. You can’t eat bran straight out of the package. It’s not that palatable. You can sprinkle it on other foods, like cereal, or you can put it in baked goods.

Bran isn’t the only source of fiber. Vegetables, fruits and whole-grain products have a good supply of fiber. And if you want, you can get products like Metamucil, Fiberall and Perdiem that contain psyllium, another fiber source.

The constipation booklet deals with this common problem in detail. Readers can order a copy by writing: Dr. Donohue — No. 504W, Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Enclose a check or money order (no cash) for $4.75 U.S./$6.75 Canada with the recipient’s printed name and address. Please allow four weeks for delivery.

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Dear Dr. Donohue: I am a waitress. Naturally, I am on my feet all day long. When I get home and kick off my shoes, my feet have a terrible odor. I take a daily shower. If I bathe more often, my skin dries out. Is there some way to control this smell? — C.M.

Answer: One way to decrease foot odor is to keep the feet as dry as possible.

When you go to work, take with you a change of stockings. If you can get two stocking changes in while you’re at work, all the better. Wear shoes that have openings in them for ventilation.

Never wear the same shoes two days in a row. Give them a chance to thoroughly dry.

You don’t have to take lots of showers every day, but you can wash your feet before going to work and immediately upon coming home. Dry them with a hair dryer. After they’ve dried, spray them, top and bottom, with an antiperspirant that has aluminum chloride in it.

At night, before going to bed, spray your feet with a solution of sodium bicarbonate. Put half a teaspoon of bicarbonate in a cup of water. This spray changes the acidity of the skin and gets rid of some of the odor-producing germs that cling to the feet.

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Dear Dr. Donohue: How much does exercise really add to your life? I am not an exerciser and don’t intend to become one. — S.K.

Answer: I don’t know if this is reliable, but some claim it adds an extra year or two to your life. Length of life is not what counts. Quality of life is. Exercisers are more likely to maintain their independence right to their last moments on Earth.