Dietary Fiber
Fiber is and form of Carbohydrate that the body cannot digest.
The fact that the body cannot digest fiber for fuel to be used by the body doesn't mean it's not needed for your overall health.
It leaves your stomach undigested and ends up in your colon, where it feeds friendly gut bacteria, leading to various health benefits.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends consuming about 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume daily. This translates to roughly 24 grams of fiber for women and 38 grams for men.
Types of Fiber Fiber is often categorized based on its ability to dissolve in water. Soluble fiber has various benefits for metabolic health, while insoluble fiber functions mostly as a bulking agent.
There are two types of fiber:
Soluble: Soluble fiber is found in oats, beans and other legumes, and some fruits and vegetables. Soluble fiber lowers cholesterol levels.
Insoluble: Insoluble fiber found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, kidney beans, and bran acts like a broom, cleaning your digestive tract.
Benefits of Dietary Fiber
1. Reducing cholesterol: Fiber’s presence in the digestive tract can help reduce the body’s cholesterol absorption by binding to it in the small intestine. Once inside the small intestine, the fiber attaches to the cholesterol particles, preventing them from entering your bloodstream and traveling to other parts of the body and cholesterol will exit the body through the feces. Foods such as oats and barley contain a type of fibre known as beta glucan, which help to reduce cholesterol levels if you consume 3g or more of it daily, as part of a healthy diet.
2. Promoting a healthy weight: High fiber foods like fruits and vegetables tend to be lower in calories. Also, fiber’s presence slow digestion in the stomach to help you feel fuller for longer.
3. Adding bulk to the digestive tract: Fiber is important for keeping the digestive tract working smoothly. Since we do not digest it, the fiber in food passes into the intestine and absorbs water. The undigested fiber creates "bulk" so the muscles in the intestine can push waste out of the body. Eating enough fiber helps prevent constipation.
4. Promoting blood sugar control It can take your body longer to break down high fiber foods. This helps you maintain more consistent blood sugar levels, which is especially helpful for those with diabetes. A healthy diet that includes insoluble fiber also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
5. Reducing gastrointestinal cancer risk: Eating enough fiber can have protective effects against certain cancer types, including colon cancer. There are many reasons for this, including that some types of fiber, such as the pectin in apples, has antioxidant-like properties. Plus, fiber passes quickly through the colon, meaning that it will flush certain cancer-causing compounds from your system.
6. Helps you live longer: Studies suggest that increasing your dietary fiber intake especially cereal fiber is associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.
Fibre rich foods include:
1.Wholegrain breakfast cereals, wholewheat pasta, wholegrain bread and oats, barley and rye.
2. Fruit such as berries, pears, melon, strawberries, apples, raspberries, bananas and oranges.
3 Vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and sweet corn,beets, Brussels sprouts, kale, tomato and spinach.
4. Peas, beans, lentils and pulses.
5. Nuts and seeds such as Almonds,walnut, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
6. Foods such as Potatoes with skin, Quinoa and Oats.
Note that increasing your fiber intake is relatively easy — simply integrate high fiber foods into your diet.
1. Choose a high fibre breakfast cereal e.g. wholegrain cereal like wholewheat biscuit cereal, no added sugar muesli, bran flakes or porridge. Why not add some fresh fruit, dried fruit, seeds and/or nuts.
2. Choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice. Go for potatoes with skins e.g. baked potato, wedges or boiled new potatoes – you can eat these hot or use for a salad.
3. For snacks try fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes, unsalted nuts or seeds. Include plenty of vegetables with meals – either as a side dish/salad or added to sauces, stews or curries – this is a good way of getting children to eat more veg. Keep a supply of frozen vegetables so you are never without.
4. Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
5. Have some fresh or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert or a snack.
NOTE
Fiber offers many health benefits, but it’s important to incorporate fiber-containing foods gradually over the course of a few days to avoid adverse effects, such as bloating and gas. However, drinking plenty of water while you up your fiber intake will help keep these symptoms at bay.
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