http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resistant_starch
“Without changing their diets, and without sacrificing taste and convenience, consumers can obtain additional fiber and other valuable health advantages by eating popular foods like breads, pasta and cereal containing this natural fiber from corn. “

Or supplementing common difficult to digest foods with probiotics:

“Probiotics have been defined as live microorganisms that (when ingested) have a beneficial effect in the prevention and treatment of specific medical conditions. These microorganisms are believed to exert biological effects through a phenomenon known as colonization resistance, whereby the indigenous anaerobic flora limits the concentration of potentially harmful (mostly aerobic) germs in the digestive tract. Other modes of action, such as supplying enzymes or influencing enzyme activity in the gastrointestinal tract, may also account for some of the other functions that have been attributed to probiotics.”

Preventable illness is the low hanging fruit of lowering health cost. It so disturbs me when the libertarian streak about “nanny state” policies, keeps people from considering what we could do to improve national health and lower health care costs. It's no mystery what our major health risks are in America: heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, diabetes and liver disease. Anything we can do to reduce the risks of these killers prolongs life and reduces costs. Smoking and diet are by far the biggest culprits, exercise and diet the major remedies (and not smoking). Supplements and “functional foods” can reduce risk too.

However, with the Democrats health care proposals, the healthy will be subsidizing the unhealthy. With no prior conditions, no denial, and no risk management, the people who live the riskiest lifestyles will get health care subsidized by the healthy.