The Health Benefits Of Fiber

The Health Benefits Of Fiber
by James Conte

Fiber is a very important part of everyone's eating plan. But what exactly is fiber? Fiber is one of the three types of carbohydrates. The other two are sugar and starch. Fiber is derived from various types of plants, it consists of zero calories, and passes through the entire digestive tract, unabsorbed in the blood stream. This is the reason that fiber has so many health benefits. The addition of fiber to your diet is crucial to attaining quick weight loss.

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble, each has a different action in your digestive tract.

Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water, and it's rough, hence the name "roughage" is sometimes applied to insoluble fiber. It passed through the digestive tract unabsorbed and decreases constipation by increasing the bulk of the feces. Insoluble fiber has basically no calories.

Soluble fiber does dissolve in water and turns into a jelly-like mass. This is great for diabetics as it slows down sugar absorption in the blood, helping to prevent spikes in blood glucose levels. Soluble fiber has about 4 calories per gram, the same as the other types of carbohydrates.

One of the ways fiber helps you lose weight is by causing you to have to chew more and slowing down the absorption of nutrients. By eating slower, you have time to realize you're full sooner, so you eat less.

So, beside oatmeal, what are some good fiber sources? Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, beans, fruit, and barley. Insoluble fiber is found in wheat brain, raw vegetables, like carrots and celery, and nuts. It's even being "hidden" in things such as yogurt, like the Activia series by Dannon, which also adds live bacteria cultures to your stomach, which are very beneficial.

There are conflicts about how much fiber you should include in your diet each day. Some experts say that it is impossible to eat too much fiber, however, if you are a diabetic, too many soluble carbohydrates may not be good.

There are supplements you can take to get fiber into your diet, but they won't necessarily have the same cholesterol lowering benefits as a natural food source for fiber, such as oats or nuts.

As a general rule, it is beneficial to eat a large amount of fiber due to the many chronic diseases it helps prevent. Remember, if you eat a lot of carbohydrates, you should include more fiber because it helps control the spiking of your blood sugar. Fiber, particularly insoluble fiber, is critical to achieving rapid weight loss.

Just remember to consume a healthy amount of unprocessed foods and vegetables in your diet, and you should get an adequate amount of dietary fiber.

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