April 2008
Herbs: Eight Reasons Fiber Is Good For You
1. Lose weight.
2. Maintain your ideal weight for life.
3. Reduce the risk of a heart attack.
4. Maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
5. Reduce your risk of diabetes and maintain normal blood sugar.
6. Reduce your risk of colon cancer.
7. Maintain bowel regularity.
8. Improve your immunity.
Fiber is the secret to obtaining ideal weights and better health:
Fiber helps you restrict calories.
You feel full longer and tend to not over-indulge at meal times.
1. Fiber helps you to eliminate calories that you have eaten.
Reduces the absorption of the calories in the food you eat.
2. Fiber rich foods are usually energy rich, antioxidant rich and disease preventing foods.
Fiber slows down the conversion of carbohydrates to sugar thus supporting blood glucose stability. They also help to keep the colon clean thus keeping colon cancer at bay.
Our small intestine produces a hormone (cholecystokinin) that makes us feel full. Fiber promotes and prolongs the elevation of CCK in the blood and makes you feel full longer. CCK stimulates the digestion of fats and proteins by causing the release of enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gall bladder. High fiber diets cause more of the hormone to be released into the blood stream than low fiber diets.
Can we have too much fiber? Yes, Over 60g of fiber per day can cause us not to absorb the vitamins and minerals from our food that we need. It can also interfere with medications by having them push through the system before they have completed the job intended. That is why it is recommended to take in 25-35 g per day.
There are two types of fiber. The first one is insoluble fiber, which provides bulk to the stool, helping it to grind move along the digestive tract. It also helps to keep the pH levels in balance. Food sources are whole wheat, bran, fruits and vegetables. The second fiber is soluble fiber, which moves smoothly through the digestive system. Although it dissolves in water it will gel when it reaches the intestines and colon. This fiber moves in a slow, unhurried manner therefore it is good at helping to control blood sugar and LDL cholesterol levels. Food sources for this type of fiber are nuts, flax, dried legumes, carrots, apples, bran and psyllium seeds and husks.
Fiber is necessary for our good health!
Submitted by Sylvia Ventin, Natural Health Consultant
