Fiber Up Your Meals

Why High Fiber Diet?

Fiber is essential to promote a healthy peristaltic movement which moves food through the intestine. High fiber foods dilate the inside wall of the colon, easing the removal of waste. It is said that the rural Africans digest food and eliminate wastes in one-third of the time it takes for people living in western cultures. This is because their diets are rich in fiber which speeds up the time required to digest food and expel waste.

Dietary fiber aids in removal of the harmful substances before the toxins build up and cause problems such as gas, bloating, headache, and dullness to the body on a day to day basis. One suffers far less from any diseases. Any deviance in stomach health affects the entire body.

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Researches have shown that dietary fibers benefit us in many other ways as well.

Foods rich in dietary fiber have a low glycemic index. Thus these foods take longer to convert into simple sugars and the rise in the blood sugar level is gradual. This also prevents sudden surges in insulin levels and deposition of fat.

Fiber has the added benefit of improving heart health and reducing the risk of heart ailments by lowering LDL (bad) cholesterol and total cholesterol levels.

Soluble fiber balances intestinal pH and stimulates intestinal fermentation. This helps reducing the risk of colorectal cancer.

Insoluble fiber enables the food to pass quickly through the digestive system thus facilitating regularity in motions. It also adds bulk to the stool which alleviates constipation.

Diet rich in fiber makes you feel full faster and last longer. This helps reduce appetite. So if you are looking at reducing or maintaining your weight, include lot of fiber in your diet.

A high fiber diet and good water intake are the first and foremost for a healthy and stress free body. Most of us sometimes tend to eat only 5g to 10g of fiber in a day against the recommended amount of 25g to 30g per day.

The following pages give a checklist on the total dietary fiber of foods. You can easily pep up your meal by religiously consuming some fiber rich foods daily. Try to consciously include at least 3 to 4 servings of fiber rich foods. The best sources of fiber are whole grain foods, legumes and nuts, and fresh fruits and vegetables. This would sure reap great health in terms of vigor, beauty, fitness and energy.