How would you like a food that helped you lower your risk for diabetes and heart disease? How about if it could lower your cholesterol? Better yet, what if it could help you lose weight? Is it a new miracle food? ... No. Just fiber. Eating a diet that is high in fiber can do all of these things. It isn't expensive and the foods are easy to get. Here’s what you need to know.
What Is Fiber?
Fiber is found in all plants and the kind you eat is called dietary fiber. Eating a diet that is high in fiber can add bulk to your food so you feel full faster, and it provides all kinds of medical benefits.
What Are the Different Types of Fiber?
There are two kinds of dietary fiber – soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber slows down the digestion of foods because it attracts water and will turn to gel. It also stabilizes blood sugar levels by slowing down the digestion of carbohydrates. Research has shown that soluble fiber reduces cholesterol levels.
Insoluble fiber does just the opposite of soluble fiber. Instead of slowing digestion down, it speeds up the passage of foods through your stomach and intestines keeping your colon healthy in the process.
How Much Fiber?
Now that you know what fiber can do for you and what it is, the question is how much fiber is needed to get these results?
The recommended amount of fiber is 20 to 35 grams per day. This is the amount you should strive for the best health results. A moderate amount is 16 grams of insoluble and 8 grams of soluble fiber but even with this lower amount, you can still see health benefits.
What Foods Have Fiber?
Fiber is very easy to add to your diet. Insoluble fiber is found in vegetables like:
- Green beans
- Dark, leafy vegetables like spinach and romaine
- Asparagus
- Cauliflower
- Zucchini
- Beets
- Celery
- Turnips
- Potato skins
Insoluble fiber is also found in:
- Whole-grain breads
- Wheat bran
- Whole wheat
- Fruit skins
- Pears
- Corn bran
- Seeds
- Nuts
As you can see, insoluble fiber is easy to find and add to your diet.
Soluble fiber is equally easy to find in vegetables like:
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Potatoes
- Dried beans
- Peas
It can also be found in:
- Oat bran
- Barley
- Rye
- Flaxseed
- Nuts
- Psyllium husk
And in fruits like:
- Oranges
- Apples
- Prunes
- Plums
With all benefits like lowering your risk for diabetes, and heart disease, lowering your cholesterol and helping you lose weight, you can easily see the many reasons for adding fiber to your diet. Start today by slowing adding more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains to you diet and watch your health benefits go up and your weight go down.