Ask for you fiber at Jackies active Nutrition What is Fiber, and How Much do You Need? Simply put, fiber is the structural component of plant foods, so it’s found in vegetables, whole fruits, beans and grains (like corn or brown rice) – there’s no fiber in meats, fish or poultry. The average American falls far short of meeting the fiber recommendation of 25-30 grams a day. In fact, most of us only eat about 10 grams a day, which means we may be missing out on the health benefits of dietary fiber. Fiber, of course, helps move the digestive process along, but high fiber foods also provide the sensation of fullness, so they help with hunger control. And, certain fibers also support the growth of friendly bacteria in your digestive tract. If you don’t eat as much fiber as you should, it’s best to gradually increase the amount you eat gradually over a few weeks. Adding too much fiber to the diet in a short period of time might lead to abdominal discomfort and gas, so take it slowly to allow your system time to adjust. Also, drink plenty of liquid to allow the fiber to soften and swell. Different Types of Fiber: What Are They and What Do They Do? There are two broad classes of dietary fiber -– soluble fibers and insoluble fibers. Soluble fibers are found in the highest concentration in apples, oranges, carrots, potatoes, oats, barley and beans. As the name suggests, soluble fibers are just that – they dissolve in water. And when these fibers dissolve, they thicken up. If you’ve ever cooked oatmeal at home, you probably noticed that as it cooks, it gets thick and gluey. That’s because the soluble fiber in the oats is dissolving in the liquid, which makes your oatmeal thick and a little bit sticky. When these fibers come in contact with the liquid in your stomach, they swell up and thicken, too, which is why they help keep you full. Soluble fiber also slows the absorption of glucose (sugar) from the blood stream and so it can help to keep blood sugar levels more even throughout the day. Soluble fiber is also the type of fiber that the healthy bacteria in your lower digestive tract like to feed on, which encourages these friendly bacteria to multiply. Insoluble fibers also support the health of your digestive system, but in a different way. Insoluble fibers don’t dissolve in water – instead, they simply absorb water in the lower tract, which makes the fiber more bulky. This type of fiber, found in the highest concentrations in vegetables, wheat bran, corn bran, rice bran and most other whole grains, speeds the passage of waste through your digestive system, so it helps to keep you regular. There’s one other interesting type of fiber, called ‘resistant starch’. When you eat fruits, vegetables, grains and beans, they contain different types of carbohydrates – sugars, starches and fiber. Usually, the starches are broken down into individual sugars during the digestive process – but some simply defy digestion. Beans, bananas and oats are the major sources of these ‘resistant starches’ that deliver some of properties of both soluble and insoluble fibers. Since resistant starch doesn’t break down (and stays more or less intact as it travels through the digestive tract) it traps water, adds bulk and helps with regularity – much like insoluble fiber. But, resistant starch acts like a soluble fiber, too – it offers up a feast to the healthy bacteria that live in your lower intestine, and it may also help blunt rapid rises in blood sugar, much like water-soluble fibers do.
Posted on: Thu, 04 Sep 2014 11:53:27 +0000
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