Nutrition and Fibers
You have probably heard you need to eat more fiber. But do you know why fiber is so good for your health? Dietary fiber, found mainly in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes, is probably best known for its ability to prevent or relieve constipation, but fiber can provide other health benefits as well, such as lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease, keeping your digestive system healthy, and lowering cholesterol.
Fiber is often classified into two categories: those that don't dissolve in water (insoluble fiber) and those that do (soluble fiber). Soluble fiber dissolves to form a gel-like substance that moves slowly through the intestine. Sources of soluble fiber are oats, legumes (beans, peas, and soybeans), apples, bananas, berries, barely and some vegetables. Insoluble fiber increases the movement of material through your digestive tract and increases your stool bulk. Sources of insoluble fiber are whole wheat foods, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skin of some fruits and vegetables. Several recent studies show eating a diet rich in fiber promotes greater weight loss than those without. One of the reasons may be fibers ability to slow the movement of food through the intestines. This increase in time that foods stay in the intestines reduces hunger feelings and decreases the number of calories that are actually absorbed from the ingested food.
In addition to the benefits already listed, fiber also has the ability to:
- Slow the digestion of high glycemic foods
- cling to cholesterol in the intestine, helping rid the body of it
- absorbs bacterial toxins in the intestine
- speed the excretion of gallstone promoting bile
- support the immune system by crowding out harmful bacteria in the colon
- bulk up stool and makes it easy to pass
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