Most health experts these days are encouraging consumers to eat more fiber. This is due to evidence that insufficient levels of fiber in the diet can lead to various diseases. Among these diseases, the most common are diabetes, constipation, obesity, and colon cancer. These illnesses are life-threatening illnesses that you would not want to be associated with.
Eating high animal fats is considered to increase the risk of colon cancer. However, a high fiber intake protects against colon cancer. This is done by speeding up the passage of food through the digestive tract, thus shortening the time the tissues are exposed to agents in food that could possibly cause colon cancer.
So how does fiber help prevent constipation and hemorrhoids? Insoluble fibers retain a lot of water in the colon (large intestine), thus providing volume that stimulates the muscles of the digestive tract so that they can maintain their health and tone. By doing so, toned muscles can more easily move waste products through the colon for excretion.
The fibers bind to cholesterol compounds and remove them from the body along with the stool, and inhibit the production of cholesterol in the body and enhance the removal of cholesterol from the blood. The result of this is that the risk of heart diseases such as atherosclerosis is reduced.
Eating diets rich in fiber helps reduce the risk of diabetes (diabetes usually increases the risk of coronary heart disease). Fiber combats or prevents the risk of diabetes by improving blood sugar tolerance and reducing insulin secretion, thus delaying glucose absorption. Fiber also reduces the energy density of the diet, which reduces the risk of obesity.
Fiber shapes
The fiber has two forms which are; soluble fibers and insoluble fibers. These two forms of fiber found in the diet help prevent many diseases. Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water and include types of fibers called cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Soluble fibers, on the other hand, dissolve or swell when placed in water. They include types of fibers such as pectin, gums, and mucilage.
Fiber sources
Dietary sources of insoluble fiber include fruit sources such as bananas, apples, peaches, pears, and strawberries. Plant sources are tubers, ripe vegetables, cauliflower, tomatoes, and cabbage. Other sources are rice bran, brown rice, seeds, plums, wheat bran, walnuts, corn bran, legumes, whole grains, and cereals.
Fruit sources of soluble fibers are citrus fruits, apples, bananas, pears, and grapes. Other dietary sources include greens, sweet potatoes, apricots, barley, corn, potatoes, prunes, oats, oat bran, and greens like cabbage, carrots, and broccoli.