Lesson 23: Fibre Copy

Fibre

Dietary fiber, also known as roughage or bulk, includes the parts of plant foods your body can’t digest or absorb. Unlike other food components, such as fats, proteins or carbohydrates — which your body breaks down and absorbs — fiber isn’t digested by your body. Instead, it passes relatively intact through your stomach, small intestine and colon and out of your body.

Fiber is commonly classified as soluble, which dissolves in water, or insoluble, which doesn’t dissolve.

• Soluble fiber. This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium.
• Insoluble fiber. This type of fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be of benefit to those who struggle with constipation or irregular stools. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans and vegetables, such as cauliflower, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber.

The amount of soluble and insoluble fiber varies in different plant foods. To receive the greatest health benefit, eat a wide variety of high-fiber foods.

Soluble and Insoluble Fibers

Medical scientists and nutritionists categorize dietary fiber into two classifications. Soluble fiber, as the name suggests, dissolves easily in water. Plants such as beans, greens, and other complex carbohydrates contain soluble fiber; some foods, such as the potato, contain a mix of insoluble fiber (the peel) and soluble fiber (the flesh underneath). The human body breaks down these complex carbs into a gelatinous, viscous byproduct that the large intestine turns into gasses and acids that encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria in the lower gut. These bacteria positively affect several essential bodily functions and overall health.

Insoluble fiber won’t dissolve in water but is just as important to overall health and well-being as soluble fiber. We can further classify insoluble fiber into two types: fermentable and non-fermentable. Non-fermentable insoluble fiber is known primarily as a bulking agent, and consuming adequate insoluble fiber keeps people regular. Fermentable insoluble fiber — such as resistant starch —produces the same healthy gasses and acids in the large intestine that soluble fiber does. One important difference between the two types of fibers is that soluble fiber tends to slow digestion while insoluble fiber speeds it up.

Benefits of a high-fiber diet

A high-fiber diet:

• Normalizes bowel movements. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. A bulky stool is easier to pass, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have loose, watery stools, fiber may help to solidify the stool because it absorbs water and adds bulk to stool.
• Helps maintain bowel health. A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of developing hemorrhoids and small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease). Studies have also found that a high-fiber diet likely lowers the risk of colorectal cancer. Some fiber is fermented in the colon. Researchers are looking at how this may play a role in preventing diseases of the colon.
• Lowers cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or “bad,” cholesterol levels. Studies also have shown that high-fiber foods may have other heart-health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation.
• Helps control blood sugar levels. In people with diabetes, fiber — particularly soluble fiber — can slow the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels. A healthy diet that includes insoluble fiber may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
• Aids in achieving healthy weight. High-fiber foods tend to be more filling than low-fiber foods, so you’re likely to eat less and stay satisfied longer. And high-fiber foods tend to take longer to eat and to be less “energy dense,” which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.
• 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 and all cancers.

Vegan diets, rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and legumes are much more likely to easily yield the amount and kind of fiber your body needs to maintain good digestive health. … Peas, beans and apples contain soluble fiber, which slows digestion and helps the body absorb nutrients from food.Fiber is an important part of our diets and most people simply aren’t getting enough of it. Fiber is essential to the body’s digestive system and it helps to expel toxins from the intestines and the bowels. Fiber is actually a type of carbohydrate that the body doesn’t digest, but instead, passes to help to clear out some of the unhealthy junk we’ve been eating. The two types of fibers include soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibers absorb water from the body and helps move waste. Soluble fiber is related to lowering cholesterol levels and slowing digestion, which keeps our energy levels stable and helps to control our hunger. Inulin and psyllium are commonly used forms of soluble fiber but they differ in many ways. One of the main benefits of adding soluble fiber to your diet is that it adds bulk to stool, helping to relieve constipation. Soluble fiber absorbs excess water in your digestive tract, helping to prevent loose watery stools. Increasing your soluble fiber intake also aids in controlling your cholesterol and blood glucose levels, the University of Maryland Medical Center notes. Psyllium is more effective in these aspects because it does not get broken down by intestinal bacteria. Insoluble fiber helps to prevent constipation by fermenting and creating bacteria, which makes it bulky and helps to clean our digestive tract from leftovers.

The recommended daily intake of fiber for women hovers between 21 and 25 grams of fiber per day, while for men it’s 30 to 38 grams per day.

Raspberries – Fiber: 8 grams per cup, raw.

Blackberries – Fiber: 7.6 grams per cup, raw.

Avocados- Fiber: 6.7 grams per half, raw.

Pears – Fiber: 5.5 grams per medium fruit, raw.

Nuts & Seeds: 1/4 cup = 2.5 grams of fibre

Tips to Add More Fiber to Any Meal

Add flaxseed meal to oats, smoothies, yogurt, A two-tablespoon serving contains 3.8 grams of fiber and a dose of omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds have a whopping 5.5 grams of fiber per tablespoon. When they meet with water, they form a goopy gel that is great for thickening smoothies, making healthy puddings, or replacing eggs in cakes and cookies. Refer to the Medicinal Cookies recipe in week 6 module notes which contain both organic Psyllium fiber and organic Inulin powder.