Consume more fiber. You've most likely heard it before. Fiber, which is mostly found in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and legumes, is perhaps best recognized for its ability to prevent or treat constipation and other comparable or related problems. However, fiber-rich meals can also help you maintain a healthy weight and lessen your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some forms of cancer.
It's not difficult to find pleasant fiber-rich meals. Learn how much dietary fiber you require, what foods contain it, and how to include it in your meals and snacks.
What exactly is fiber?
Whole grain cereals, as well as fruits and vegetables, provide dietary fiber. Fiber is composed of indigestible plant components or substances that pass mostly unaltered through our stomach and intestines. Fiber is mostly composed of carbohydrates. The fundamental role of fiber is to keep the digestive system healthy.
What exactly is dietary fiber?
Dietary fiber often called coarse or bulk forage is made up of pieces of plants that your body cannot process or absorb. Unlike other components of the diet, such as fat, protein, and carbohydrates, which your body digests and absorbs, fiber is sometimes not digested by your body. Instead, it goes relatively undamaged through your stomach, small intestine, and a colon before exiting your body.
Fiber and other essential proteins are typically classed as soluble, meaning it dissolves in water, or insoluble, meaning it does not dissolve in water.
Soluble Fiber
When dissolved in water, this fiber forms a gel-like material. It can help in lowering cholesterol and glucose levels in the blood. Soluble fiber may be found in a variety of foods, including oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley, and psyllium.
Insoluble Fiber
This type of fiber accelerates the flow of matter through your digestive system and increases the volume of stool, making it useful for people who suffer from constipation or irregular bowel movements. These types of fibers are present in whole wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans, and veggies such as cauliflower, green beans, and potatoes.
The quantity of soluble and insoluble fiber in various plant meals varies. Consume a wide variety of high-fiber meals to get the most health benefits.
Dietary fiber has several health advantages
From the moment a mouthful is eaten until the waste is evacuated out of the colon, the digestive system is lined with muscles that massage food down the digestive path (a process called peristalsis). Although dietary fiber is indigestible, it adds volume to our faeces (poo) and helps to keep the digestive tract healthy.
- It is also necessary for other bodily processes (for example:
- Reducing blood cholesterol levels
- Keeping our weight in check
- Regulating glucose - is crucial if you have diabetes
- Lowering our chances of developing additional diseases.
Ways to Increase Your Fiber Consumption
The majority of people avoid or do not consume enough fruits and vegetables, beans/legumes, or whole-grain cereals, all of which are high in fiber. Simple ways to increase your daily fiber consumption include:
- Consume breakfast cereals including barley, wheat, or oats.
- Replace white bread with whole-grain or multigrain slices and brown rice with brown rice.
- Every evening meal should include an additional vegetable.
- Snack on fresh or dried fruit, almonds, or whole-grain crackers.
References
- http://blog.arthritis.org/living-with-arthritis/fiber-arthritis-diet/
- https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fibre-in-food