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Dietary fiber is well-known for its effects on heart health. A diet rich in fiber helps reduce blood levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, without reducing levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or "good" cholesterol.

Soluble fiber may also help regulate blood sugar in people with diabetes; and it aids in weight loss, both because it is filling and because it helps reduce the number of calories that your body absorbs after a meal.

In fact, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has found that women who raise their fiber intake from 12 grams per day to 24 …

Damien sainthood poses dilemma for leper colony

In a state known for bustling, exciting tourist destinations such as Waikiki and the Kilauea volcano, Kalaupapa is sacred ground with a history of disease, suffering and isolation.

Some 8,000 people have died on this remote peninsula since the Hawaiian Kingdom started exiling leprosy patients here in 1866. Many were torn from their families and left to scrounge for shelter, clothes and food. The vast majority were buried in unmarked graves.

Today, visitor interest in Kalaupapa, on the northern edge of Molokai island, is growing. And it will likely increase when the Vatican proclaims Father Damien _ the 19th century priest who cared for the leprosy patients …

Commuters upset ; In brief

ESSEX: Text messages warning commuters of delayed Essex trainshave been sidelined.

The move has annoyed Essex Rail Commuters Federation chief MarkLeslie, who used the free National Express service which has nowbeen replaced by e-mail alerts.

National Express said this week that cost was not the main reasonfor stopping the service.

SpokesmanPeter Meades said: "Text is much more restricted than e-mail and the two systems were not compatible, so we decided one overthe …

Book Details Plot to Steal Abe's Body

CHICAGO - When it comes to Abraham Lincoln, apparently there's no such thing as enough. After countless books about his boyhood, his presidency, the hunt for his killer and yes, even his feet, maybe it was time for a new book devoted to what happened to Lincoln's body after he was done using it.

As its title implies, "Stealing Lincoln's Body" by Thomas J. Craughwell (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press) is devoted to Lincoln after, as Craughwell writes in the first sentence, "the last tremor of life" left his body.

Craughwell details a little-known plot to steal the 16th president's remains from his tomb in Springfield, Ill., in 1876 - 11 years after he was …

National Hockey League

W L OT Pts GF GA

y-New Jersey 50 27 4 104 241 207

x-Philadelphia 43 26 11 97 258 232

x-Pittsburgh 44 28 9 97 261 238

x-N.Y. Rangers 42 30 9 93 206 215

N.Y. Islanders 26 45 9 61 197 270

Northeast Division

W L OT Pts GF GA

z-Boston 52 18 10 114 267 188

x-Montreal 41 29 11 93 248 244

Buffalo 40 32 9 …

Romney defends business record in face of attacks

ROCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Sunday defended his time in private business and insisted he understands the country's tough economic times because he once feared losing his job.

"I know what it's like to worry about whether you're going to get fired," the former Massachusetts governor told a crowd gathered at the historic Rochester Opera House. "There were a couple of times when I was worried I was going to get pink-slipped."

Romney did not provide any details or concrete examples of when he feared he would be laid off or fired. His aides refused repeated requests for additional information.

Romney, who grew up in Michigan while his father served as the state's governor, became a multimillionaire when he was CEO of Bain Capital, a venture capital firm.

A spokeswoman said Romney feared losing his job "as a young person just out of college."

Before running Bain Capital, Romney attended Brigham Young University and Harvard, where he studied for law and business degrees. After graduating with honors, Romney was hired as a consultant by Boston Consulting Group. He then went to work at Bain & Co., the consulting firm that eventually spun off Bain Capital.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich attacked Romney this weekend for making those millions while laying off workers.

Gingrich referred to Romney's job at Bain as "a Wall Street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts, you can basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers."

Democrats have also repeatedly attacked Romney's tenure at Bain.

At the rally Sunday, Romney told the crowd that Bain created more jobs in the long run.

He said he once stocked shelves at Staples, the successful office supply company.

"I'm not perfect, but I do get it, and I will use what I know to get America working," Romney said.

Clinton's takeout order shows he's refined his taste buds in Big Apple

Former President Bill Clinton's taste in "takeout" food sure hasimproved since the 1990s, when he was practically the poster boy forBig Macs! En route out of town Tuesday, our former commander-in-chief had the Secret Service run by the super-pricey Il Mulino NewYork restaurant and pick up quite the feast for the flight home.

The ex-prez (and some lucky traveling companions) dined on classicBranzino, spaghettini Bolognese, papardelle with sausage andClinton's favorite -- Il Mulino's cheesecake.

YUMMY PROFITS: While on the subject of food, we should note thelocal restaurants making the most dough last year. According toindustry "bible," Restaurants and Institutions magazine, the city'stop five included Gibsons at No. 8 nationwide, grossing more than $19million in 2005, followed by Joe's Stone Crab (No. 30, $13.8million), Hugo's Frog Bar (No. 34, $13.5 million), Shaw's Crab House(No. 46, $12.3 million) and Harry Caray's (No. 61, $11.3 million).

The highest-ranking restaurant in Illinois was Bob Chinn's inWheeling, coming in at No. 7 and a whopping $19.7 million.

BRITNEY TV? I pray this isn't true, but Us Weekly reports BritneySpears' recent gig on "Will & Grace" led to a meeting between theparenting-challenged pop tart and Sean Hayes -- supposedly to discussideas for a proposed ensemble sitcom about teachers, possibly called"Detention."

No comment from spokesfolks for either Hayes or Spears.

NEVER TOO LATE: Nice to know 65-years-young Martin Sheen is goingfrom being president to becoming a college student -- for the firsttime. The departing President Bartlet on "The West Wing" plans tostudy literature, philosophy and possibly oceanography at theNational University of Ireland in Galway.

HOTEL HAPPENINGS: The Chicago Hilton & Towers has long been afavorite Chicago filming site. Recently cameras have rolled at theHilton for the "Prison Break" series and the ABC pilot "Enemies." Thenext movie likely to capture the Hilton on film will be John Cusack's"Grace Is Gone" feature, also starring Dianne Wiest and Casey Affleckand directed by James Strouse, who wrote the screenplay for "LonesomeJim," Affleck's current film.

"Grace Is Gone" is about a father (Cusack) with two youngdaughters who receives the devastating news his wife was killed inIraq. Before bringing himself to tell his children, he takes them ontheir dream vacation -- a cross-country trip to the fictitious DisneyWorld-esque "Enchanted Gardens" theme park in Florida.

- To toast the upcoming Empire Room tribute to Stanley Paul, thePalmer House Hilton has dedicated a big window display near itsMonroe Street entrance to Chicago's popular orchestra leader. Paul isthe recipient of the upcoming Essee and Irv Kupcinet Award, beingpresented May 4 by the Chicago Academy for the Arts.

FLYBY BIT: At the New York premiere party for "Three Penny Opera,"Cyndi Lauper clarified a widely reported tale to my Big Applecorrespondent Baird Jones.

A bird flying overhead at a Lauper concert last year supposedlymade an unwelcome "deposit" in the singer's mouth -- just as shethrew back her head to belt out a tune.

According to Lauper, the birdie did hit her lower lip, "but Icould not taste it. I just wiped it off and went on with myperformance. I actually considered it a good-luck sign." Whatever yousay, Cyndi!

e-mail: bzwecker@suntimes.com