Filling your diet with fiber-rich foods is essential for your health. Your body cannot breakdown fiber, so it travels through your digestive tract, relatively intact. Fiber improves digestion by moving foods through your gut, keeping you regular. Having adequate fiber in your diet can also aid in weight management, may help lower your cholesterol and decrease your risk of cardiovascular disease. There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble.
Recommended Amounts
Recommended fiber intakes vary based on gender, since men tend to require more calories than women. Men need up to 38 g of fiber daily, but women need around 25 g. On average, Americans consume 15 g of fiber per day, explains the Harvard School of Public Health. Changing your diet by increasing your consumption of fruits, vegetables and whole grains, provides all of the fiber your body needs. You need both soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet, but most fibrous foods contain both types.
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber attracts water in your digestive tract, forming a slow-moving gel. Foods high in soluble fiber include psyllium husk, dried beans and peas. The soft parts of fruits, such as the inside of an apple, also provide high amounts of soluble fiber. You can help lower your cholesterol by eating soluble fiber foods. They help limit the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines and can lower your "bad" LDL cholesterol over time. Eating foods with soluble fiber is especially important for diabetics. Since soluble fiber slows digestion, it delays the absorption of sugar. This keeps your blood sugar, or glucose levels, stable for hours.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber sweeps through your digestive tract, speeding up digestion and creating a bulkier stool. Having insoluble fiber in your diet relieves constipation and decreases your risk of hemorrhoids. This type of fiber is difficult to chew and is found in the edible skins of fruits, whole-wheat foods and celery. Since these foods take longer to chew, you give your body more time to register that it is full. During a high-fiber snack or meal, you'll spend time chewing and be less likely to overeat. This may reduce your caloric intake, aiding in weight loss.
High-Fiber Foods
Fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are all excellent sources of fiber. A 1-cup serving of fresh raspberries provides 8 g; a medium pear has 5.5 g; and a medium orange or banana each contain about 3.1 g. Broccoli provides 5.1 g per 1-cup serving; peas have 8.8 g; and Brussels sprouts contain 4.1 g per 1-cup serving. The outer bran of grains is full of fiber. When grains are refined, the bran is removed, limiting the amount of fiber you consume. Enjoying whole-grain foods, such as barley, bran flakes or wheat spaghetti, as each provide more than 5 g of fiber per 1-cup serving. Eating a variety of all these foods provides both soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet.
Member Comments