Having enough fiber in your diet is important at all ages but especially if you are a senior citizen.


The Broome County Office for Aging has teamed up with the Food Bank of the Southern Tier for nutritional education classes Thursday being fiber fuel. Nutritionists lead the program by having people rank food items from highest to lowest in what they thought had the most fiber. Registered Dietician Elisa Bernardo says that along with digestive health there are many benefits of having the proper amount of fiber.


"It helps to lower cholesterol, it helps to keep blood levels stable which is an issue with this population," Bernardo says. "Diabetes is on the rise, especially among the elderly."


During the educational program, nutritionists also made a kale and garbanzo bean stir fry.