Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet: One of the primary benefits of eating whole plant meals is their high fiber content.
There is mounting evidence that eating enough fiber can improve digestion and lower the chance of developing chronic illnesses.
Your gut microbiota, which consists of the millions of bacteria that inhabit your digestive tract, mediates many of these advantages.
But not every fiber is made equally. The consequences for health range across categories.
The health benefits of fiber are explained in this article with proof.
Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet
Fiber feeds “good” gut bacteria
- The number of bacteria in the human body is ten to one compared to the number of cells. Most bacteria reside in the stomach, especially the large intestine, although they can also be found on the skin, in the mouth, and in the nose.
- The intestine is home to 500–1,000 distinct types of bacteria, or over 38 trillion cells. The term “gut flora” also refers to these bacteria.
- This is not an adverse event. In actuality, you and certain of the bacteria that inhabit your digestive system have a mutually beneficial connection.
- You give the germs a place to live that is safe, food, and shelter. They take care of certain tasks that the human body is unable to do in exchange.
- The issue is that not much food reaches the large intestine since the majority of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids are absorbed into the circulation. This leaves little food for the gut bacteria.
- Fiber is useful in this situation. Since human cells lack the enzymes necessary for fiber digestion, it mostly remains unaltered until it reaches the large intestine.
- The main justification for the necessity of (some) dietary fibers for good health is this:. As prebiotics, they nourish the “good” bacteria in the intestines.
Some types of fiber can help you lose weight
- Certain fibers have the ability to decrease hunger, which aids in weight loss.
- In fact, some research indicates that consuming more dietary fiber can automatically reduce calorie intake, leading to weight loss.
- In the gut, fiber has the ability to absorb water, which slows down the absorption of nutrients and heightens feelings of fullness.
- But this varies according to the kind of fiber. While some soluble fibers can significantly affect weight, others have no impact at all.
- Glucomannan is a wonderful example of a fiber supplement that works well for weight loss.
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Fiber can reduce blood sugar spikes after a high carb meal
- Since refined carbohydrates have had the majority of their fiber removed, meals high in fiber typically have a lower glycemic index.
- But according to scientists, this characteristic is exclusive to soluble fibers with a high viscosity.
- Your blood sugar spikes may be lower if you include these viscous, soluble fibers in your carb-heavy meals.
- This is crucial, particularly if you’re on a diet high in carbohydrates. In this instance, the fiber can lessen the chance that the carbohydrates will cause your blood sugar to rise dangerously high.
- Having said that, you should think about cutting back on your intake of carbohydrates if you have problems with your blood sugar, particularly if they are low-fiber, processed carbohydrates like white bread and added sugar.
Fiber can reduce cholesterol, but the effect isn’t huge
- Soluble, viscous fiber can lower cholesterol levels as well.
- The result isn’t quite as striking as you might anticipate, though.
- Consuming 2–10 grams of soluble fiber daily decreased total cholesterol by only 1.7 mg/dl and LDL (bad) cholesterol by 2.2 mg/dl, on average, according to an analysis of 67 controlled studies.
- However, the viscosity of the fiber also plays a role in this. Increasing fiber consumption has been shown in several studies to significantly lower cholesterol.
- It’s unclear if this will have any long-term impacts, but numerous observational studies indicate that eating more fiber lowers the risk of heart disease.
The bottom line
- Dietary fiber offers a number of health advantages.
- Fermentable fiber not only nourishes your gut flora but also produces short-chain fatty acids that support the health of your colon wall.
- Furthermore, viscous, soluble fiber has the potential to lessen blood sugar spikes following high-carb meals, lower cholesterol, and decrease hunger.
- Strive to obtain a range of fiber types from entire fruits, veggies, and grains if you’re trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.
