While your body cannot digest it, fiber is an important part of a healthy diet. Most Americans do not eat enough fiber. This unhealthy diet plays a role in the epidemic of cardiovascular disease in the United States. A diet high in fiber can improve your health, help you lose weight and reduce your cholesterol and subsequent risk for heart disease.
Recommended Amount
The USDA recommends getting 31 g of fiber each day to keep your body healthy, based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Learn the fiber content of packaged foods by reading the nutrition label. Fiber is listed as a subsection under carbohydrates. Be sure to purchase whole grain products over items made with refined flour.
Soluble Fiber
There are two types of healthy dietary fiber. Soluble fiber, like that found in oatmeal, dissolves into a gel-like substance in water. Barley, blackberries and lima beans contain soluble fiber. Brussels sprouts, peaches and kidney beans are good sources of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows digestion, which gives your body enough time to absorb all the nutrition a meal has to offer. Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol in your intestines before cholesterol has a chance to enter the bloodstream. This lowers your blood cholesterol level and your risk for heart disease.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber, found in high concentrations in foods like wheat bran and dried carrots, does not dissolve in water and passes undigested through the gastrointestinal tract. Beans, bran flakes, peanuts and popcorn contain insoluble fiber, as do sunflower seeds and whole grain rice. Insoluble fiber adds volume to meals so you feel more satisfied after eating and less likely to snack on sugary treats. Insoluble fiber speeds digestion, preventing constipation by adding bulk to stool. A lifetime of a low-fiber diet may lead to diverticulitis, a disease affecting the sigmoid colon.
Health
Foods high in fiber are generally healthier and lower in calories than those foods that are low in fiber. Most healthy diets encourage foods high in fiber, like whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The fibrous parts of food do not contain calories and can help you lose weight, although the non-fibrous parts of those foods contain calories. Only plant-based foods, like fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, contain dietary fiber. Meat products do not provide dietary fiber, and are usually high in unhealthy saturated fat. Most food high in fiber contains varying amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber, important in every healthy diet.
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