5 Reasons Why We Should Consume Fiber

Fiber is defined as the portion of plant foods that your body cannot digest. Fiber is found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans and nuts. Consume adequate amounts of fiber each day, 14 g for every 1,000 calories you eat, but what you may not know is what fiber actually does for your body.

Regularity

One of the most well-noted roles of fiber is in constipation treatment and prevention. Constipation is characterized by small, hard stools that are difficult to pass. Fiber helps pull water into the digestive tract, softening your stool and increasing its bulk, making it easier to eliminate. Fiber is also beneficial to those who are plagued by diarrhea. Fiber helps absorb excess water in the digestive tract, solidifying your stool.

Bowel Health

When you are constipated, you are likely to strain during bowel movements. This strain increases the pressure in your digestive tract. Over time, increased pressure can lead to hemorrhoids, which are swollen veins in the rectum or anus. This pressure also increases your risk of diverticulosis, which is characterized by small pouches in the lining of your colon.

Fiber helps you eliminate your stools and also helps reduce the pressure in the digestive tract associated with constipation. This lowers your risk of hemorrhoids and diverticulitis.

Weight Control

Fiber intake, especially in the form of whole grains, helps prevent weight gain and the development of obesity by approximately 30 percent, according to a 2009 report in "Nutrition Reviews." There are two ways that fiber helps control weight. High-fiber foods are more filling than low-fiber foods. Adding high-fiber foods to the diet is likely to decrease the amount of food you eat at subsequent meals as well as frequency of snacking.

In addition to being filling, high-fiber foods are also generally lower in calories than low-fiber foods. Consuming plenty of high-fiber foods throughout the day helps lower your total calorie intake, helping to prevent weight gain and even contributing to weight loss.

Cholesterol

Soluble fiber helps lower blood cholesterol levels, reducing your risk of heart disease. Your body uses cholesterol to make bile acids. These bile acids are released during digestion and then reabsorbed through the small intestine and reused. Soluble fiber interferes with the reabsorption of these bile acids. Bile acids are excreted through your waste. This prompts your liver to use up cholesterol to replace the lost bile acids, lowering the amount of cholesterol in your blood.

Blood Sugar

Soluble fiber also helps control blood sugar levels by slowing down the absorption of sugar and steadying the rate at which this sugar enters your bloodstream from your digestive tract. This makes fiber a valuable part of the diet for diabetics. The decreased absorption rate of sugar also reduces your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.