Many people may be confused by the term fiber. But to reap the health benefits, you don’t need to know all the scientific explanations and definitions of exactly what dietary fiber is and how it works in the human body. Generally, dietary fiber is found in plants. While all plants contain some fiber, there are particular sources with high concentrations of fiber, making them a better practical food choice. By including whole foods, fruits, and vegetables in your diet, you’ll generally get most of the fiber you’ll need, and you’ll also gain a number of health benefits, such as reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and constipation. .
Officially, dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that represents an indigestible part of plant foods. It consists of two main components:
- Soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active by-products
- insoluble fiber – metabolically inert, absorbing water as it moves through the digestive system and out of the body
The general daily recommendations for adult women are 20 grams and more of fiber, and for men, more than 30 grams.
The many health benefits of dietary fiber
These are the general health benefits that fibers are considered, studied and estimated to have:
- As a type of carbohydrate, fiber can reduce appetite: it increases the volume of food without increasing the caloric content, thus providing satiety, or it increases the length of time you feel full.
- Decreases variation in blood sugar levels and helps lower total and LDL cholesterol. By regulating blood sugar levels, fiber can help reduce the risks or symptoms of metabolic syndrome and diabetes.
- Accelerates the passage of consumed food through the digestive system.
High fiber food sources
The best food choices are whole fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread, breakfast cereals, and bean cultures.
- vegetables (peas, soybeans and other beans)
- oats, rye and barley
- some fruits and freshly squeezed fruit juices (prunes, berries, bananas, and the insides of apples and pears)
- whole-grain foods
- vegetables like: broccoli and carrots
- Nuts and seeds
Food sources like those are not only high in fiber, but also in vitamins and minerals. They are the gifts of nature, unprocessed and not chemically altered. Therefore, choosing such rich natural sources of dietary fiber is an essential step towards a highly nutritional diet and also a number of health benefits.