If your idea of increasing the fiber in your diet consists of doubling up on portions of high-fiber breakfast cereals and chowing down endless batches of bran muffins, you may not know enough about fiber to help your body, and may actually be causing some harm. Let me explain.
The average American eats only about 12 grams of fiber per day and the National Cancer Institute recommends a daily intake of 20-35 grams of fiber from a wide range of high-fiber foods. A high fiber diet will reduce the risk of developing colon cancer and bowel / digestive disorders, enhance elimination and detoxification in the body, improve immunity, balance blood-sugar levels, boost energy, lower blood fats and cholesterol levels.
So we know fiber is good for us, but what is fiber anyways?
Quite simply when we refer to dietary fiber we generally refer to the parts of vegetables, fruits, nuts, grains and legumes that can’t be digested by humans. Because humans lack the digestive juices and enzymes to digest fiber it passes through our bodies without adding energy or calories. Fiber is divided into two types according to whether or not it is soluble in water and referred to as either soluble or insoluble fiber.
What is Soluble Fiber?
Soluble fiber is the type of fiber that dissolves and blends with water and forms a type of gel in the gastrointestinal tract. Think of it as the type of fiber that slows down the food going through your system. It makes you feel full, promotes regular bowel movements and aids in weight loss. Those suffering from diabetes, hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia will find this type of fiber useful in managing and regulating the sugar levels in the blood. Soluble fiber is further classifed as three different types called Gums, Mucilage and Pectin. Sources of soluble fiber include fruits and vegetables, oat bran, lentils, beans and peas, and barley.
Gums and Mucilage
Both of these are helpful in regulating blood sugar levels and help to lower cholesterol as well as helping to remove toxins from the body. Food sources of these types of soluble fiber include beans and legumes, oatmeal, oat bran and sesame seeds.
Pectin
Pectin is considered to be a phytochemical which is a substance manufactured by plants which has numerous health benefits to humans. Pectin helps to remove unwanted metals and toxins from the body, helps to lower cholesterol and to reduce the risk of heart disease and gallstones. It slows down the absorbtion of food after meals so it is especially useful for diabetics. Food sources of this type of soluble fiber include citrus fruits, cabbage, apples, carrots, beets, berries, bananas, pears, prunes, plums, grapes, okra and dried peas.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber is the type of fiber that does not dissolve with water. Think of it as the type of fiber that speeds up the food going through your system. Although it doesn’t dissolve in water, it acts like a sponge binding to water causing the stool to be softer and to have greater bulk which speeds up the speed at which it moves through the intestines. It speeds up the elimination of waste, absorbs toxins, softens the stool and improves bowel disorders. Insoluble fiber is classified into three differt types called Cellulose, Hemicellulose and Lignin. Food sources of insoluble fiber include fruits and vegetables, nuts, brown rice and whole grains.
Cellulose
Cellulose is also considered to be a phytochemical (a substance manufactured by plants which has numerous health benefits to humans). Found in the outer layers of fruits and vegetables, cellulose helps to cleanse the colon of cancer-causing toxins lodged in the colon walls. It also helps with vericose veins, constipation, colitis, diverticulitis and even hemerrhoids. Food sources of cellulose include mushrooms, oatmeal, onions, pears, peas, peanuts, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, whole grains, Brazil nuts, celery, bran flakes, beets, beans, asparagus, apples and apricots.
Hemicellulose
This type of insoluble fiber is much less complex than cellulose and it helps in weight loss, relieving constipation, and helps to lower the risk of colon cancer fighting cancer causing agents in the intestines.
Lignin
As well as being a phytochemical, this type of insoluble fiber is helpful in lowering cholesterol levels in the body. It also helps to preven gallstones and colon cancer. It binds with bile acids and removes them from the body. Sources of lignin include cauliflower, carrots, kale, parsley, whole grains, flaxseeds, peaches, tomatoes, potatoes, strawberries, spinach, soybeans, peas, parsley, green beans, barley and cabbage.
So now we know what fiber is, so what else do we need to know?
We know that fiber has a cleansing effect on the body stripping toxins and harmful bacteria from the intestines and colon, but in that process fiber can also strip the body of some of its helpful friendly bacteria, so when consuming high-fiber foods you will want to supplement your diet with friendly bacteria, known as probiotics, to replenish their levels in the body. Also, if you’re taking a fiber supplement, make sure to take it between meals and seperately from your medications or other supplements as it will absorb those too and diminish their potency if taken at the same time.
If your current diet is low in fiber, you will want to increase your fiber intake slowly by a few grams a day to reach the 20-35grams/day recommended. Remember to drink plenty of water as well when increasing your fiber intake as fiber absorbs a lot of water.
Are there any down sides to eating lots of fiber?
Yes. In his book, Eating Alive, Dr. John Matsen, ND, warns that people with ileocecal valve problems are best to avoid the more scratchier types of fiber in their diet as it irritates the ileocecal valve even further. The ileocecal valve is the valve between the small and large intestine which is supposed to prevent food, bacteria and toxins from coming back into the small intestine once they have entered the large intestine. Essentially it is supposed to be like a one way door that prevents anything entering the large intestine from coming back into the small intestine.
Unfortunately, a lot of people have poorly functioning ileocecal valves and so bacteria and toxins end up working their way back into the small intestine after entering the large intestine. This is bad news. So what does Dr. Matsen recommend? He recommends that when choosing raw vegetables we stick to softer ones like spinach, avacados, sprouts, tomatoes and leaf lettuce. For vegetables that are coarser such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery and root vegetables, he recommends that we either lightly steam them to soften them, cook them or juice them.
Grains and dried foods also irritate a poorly functioning ileocecal valve so they should be soaked in water. Oatmeal is fine if it is cooked, but granola is scratchy and irritating to the ileocecal valve. The worst fiber that scratches the valve the most is wheat bran, and wheat bran muffins are even worse.
So what should I do?
I started this article saying that simply eating high-fiber cereal and bran muffins might not be your best bet for a healthy high-fiber diet. What we do need is different types of fiber in our diets. We need soluble and insoluble fiber. We need it from all different types of sources like fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes not just one type of fiber. It is not just about getting a certain amount of grams of fiber, it is also about variety. A medium apple with skin has about 3.7 grams of fiber, but that doesn’t mean you go eating 8 apples a day. It is much more beneficial and healthy to get your fiber from different sources so that you get a full spectrum of soluble and insoluble fibers in all the different classes. You also don’t eat 35grams of fiber in one sitting, but rather space it out throughout the day.
Having a cup of cooked oatmeal in the morning for breakfast (4.0 grams), plus an apple (3.7 grams) and a pear (4.0 grams) for snacks during the day puts you at 11.7 grams of fiber for the day which is about the American average per person per day, and I haven’t even counted lunch, dinner, or any other snacks you might have. So the next time you see a breakfast cereal that boasts 6.0 grams of fiber per bowl and consider the thought of having to eat 5 of those per day, don’t panic! If you’re eating a healthy diet which consists of a lot of vegetables, nuts, grains, fruits and legumes, you might be getting more fiber in your diet than you think. Of course, if your diet currently consists of pizza, chocolate bars and cheeseburgers, it’s time for a change.
Comments
Post a Comment