Fiber Craze - What is Fiber?

Lately you may have seen a few commercials on television for products containing fiber.  What is fiber?  How can it benefit me?  There are two types of fiber, dietary and “functional” fiber.  Functional fiber is what is being added to these products we are hearing about in commercials.  Dietary fiber comes from whole foods.  Experts recommend that men should be getting about 38 grams of fiber a day and women should be getting about 25 grams a day.  

There are many sources of fiber out there.  You can find in beans, oats, fruits, certain vegetables, potatoes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.  Fiber is a type of carbohydrate.  When you are looking on the nutrition label, it will be listed under carbohydrates.  Fiber is something that our body cannot digest, so it is not absorbed into the bloodstream.  There are two types of dietary fiber: soluble and insoluble.  

Soluble fiber will dissolve in water, where insoluble fiber cannot be dissolved.   When soluble fiber is mixed with water or any liquid, it turns to a gel.  Insoluble fiber passes through our system still intact.  There are many benefits of insoluble fiber.  It can promote regular bowel movements and remove toxic waste from our colons in less time.  You can find insoluble fiber in green beans and dark leafy vegetables, skin of fruit and root vegetables, and whole wheat products.  Soluble fiber binds with the fatty acids and keeps you full longer.  It also lowers that bad cholesterol and helps to regulate blood sugar.  You can find soluble fiber in beans, nuts, oranges, apples, and carrots

Even though our body cannot digest fiber, it has many health benefits.  Many studies have shown the importance of including fiber in your diet.    Along with many essential nutrients, when fiber is added to a diet, it has been found to lower cholesterol reducing the risk of heart disease, and reduce weight.  Fiber adds a bulk to your diet.  It makes you feel full faster, thereby reducing your appetite. Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to a gel while it is traveling through your system and keeps you full longer.  This way you consume fewer calories.  

Fiber helps reduce the risk of heart disease.  Studies have shown that the more fiber you eat in your diet, the lower the risk of heart disease. Experts have also found that by lowering your cholesterol, you are lowering your risk of heart disease.  Fiber also lowers cholesterol by lowering the LDL (bad) cholesterol.  Studies have found that high-fiber diets lower the absorption of cholesterol in the intestines so that the body can get rid of it.  One study found that by eating a high-fiber and low-fat diet, there is a reduction of cholesterol when compared to a diet that is just low in fat.

Another way to keep healthy is to take a multivitamin.  Even if you are really planning the meals in your diet well there are still going to be nutritional gaps.  Multivitamins help to fill in the gap in your diet for essential nutrients you may be missing.  Just like fiber it is important that you don’t have too many of any one vitamins in your diet.  Yet, a good daily multivitamin should be a good way of helping you to get all the additional vitamins that your body needs.  If you are not getting enough fiber in your diet, you can take a fiber supplement.   There are many types of fiber supplements: chewable, powder, and pill.  By combining a healthy high-fiber diet and a multivitamin you can give your body the nutrients that it needs to stay healthy. It is important before adding any vitamin or supplement to your diet to research the effects it will have on your body, and to consult your health care professional.