High soluble fiber diet Q&A The American diet is notoriously deficient in dietary fiber. To make up for the deficiency, foods such as soy and. A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine confirms that eating high fiber foods, such as oats, helps prevent heart disease. Almost 10,000 American adults. High Fiber Diet : Gi. Care. com. What is Dietary Fiber? All fiber comes from plants, bushes, vines or trees. When these soluble fibers are fermented by the good colon bacteria, some further significant health benefits have been shown to occur by research in many medical centers. These soluble prebiotic fibers occur in significant amounts in: asparagusyamsonionsgarlicbananasleeksagavechicory and other root vegetables such as Jerusalem artichokeswheat, rye and barley (smaller amounts)Benefits of a High Fiber Diet. I recently came across data around the lack of fiber in the American diet. Fiber may not be listed as an 'essential nutrient', but it is essential to healthy. HIGH-FIBER DIET OVERVIEW. Eating a diet that is high in fiber has many potential health benefits, including a decreased risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2. Find out about the potential health benefits of broccoli including lowering the risk of cancer, improving bone health, helping to fight skin damage and improving. Sweet potatoes pack a powerful nutritional punch. They have got over 400% of your daily needs for vitamin A in one medium spud, as well as loads of fiber and. High-Fiber Foods Benefits, Sources, and Getting More Fiber in Your Diet. Many of us associate fiber with digestive health and bodily functions we’d rather not think. Understanding Fiber: Health Benefits of Fiber. Fiber, which used to be called "roughage," is only found in foods from plants, such as beans. The health benefits of a high fiber diet, consumed on a regular basis and reaching recommended amounts (below), are now fairly well- defined. There are some additional benefits in the early research stage with the prebiotic soluble fibers. What is now known regarding a high fiber diet include: Bowel Regularity. A high fiber diet promotes regularity with a softer, bulkier and regular stool pattern. This decreases the chance of hemorrhoids, diverticulosis and perhaps colon cancer. Cholesterol and Reduced Triglycerides. The soluble fibers are the ones that will reduce cholesterol levels when used on a regular basis. Psyllium husk and prebiotic soluble fiber will also reduce cholesterol. They may also reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease. Oats, flax seeds and legumes or beans are the recommended fibers. Colon Polyps and Cancer. It is still not certain if a high fiber diet helps prevent colon cancer. Considerable research suggests that this may occur. Certainly it makes sense to increase regularity and so speed the movement of cancer causing carcinogens through the bowel. In addition, reducing a heavy meat diet reduces the bile flow from the liver in a favorable way. This, too, reduces the amount of carcinogens that reach and are manufactured in the colon. Finally, a high fiber diet, including prebiotic soluble fiber, increases the integrity and health of the wall of the colon. The risk of cancer may be reduced. Colon Wall Integrity. A high fiber diet changes the bacterial makeup of the colon toward a more favorable balance. For instance, it is known that those people with obesity, diabetes type 2 and inflammatory bowel disease have a predominance of bad bacteria in the colon. This, in turn, may render the bowel wall weak and allow bacteria and, indeed, even toxins to seep through. A high fiber diet with a modest reduction in animal and meat products may return the bacterial makeup to a more positive balance. This, in particular, has been seen when the soluble fiber prebiotics are added to the diet. Blood Sugar. Soluble fiber such as in legumes (beans), oats and in prebiotic fibers slows the absorption of blood sugar and so helps regulate the sugar in the blood. Insoluble fiber on a regular basis is associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Weight Loss. High fiber diets are more filling and give a sense of fullness sooner than an animal and meat based diet does. In addition, the soluble prebiotic fibers have been shown to turn off the hunger hormones produced in the wall of the gut and to increase the hormones that give a sense of fullness. Those hormones are made in the wall of the gut. New medical research has shown that the bacterial makeup in the colon in overweight people is abnormal to the extent that they manufacture and absorb almost twice the number of calories through the colon wall as do normals. Prebiotic fibers (below) will help change this hormonal balancein a favorable way. Bacteria and the Function of the Colon. The colon finishes the digestive process. Hopefully, the waste products move through in a nice regular manner. Insoluble fibers help this process by retaining water and so producing a bulkier, softer stool, which is easy to pass. The additional role of the colon is to provide a home for an enormous number of micro- organisms, mostly bacteria. Recent research has shown that there are over 1,0. These bacteria play a major role in keeping the colon wall itself healthy. In addition, these good bacteria produce a very strong immune system for the body. They significantly increase calcium absorption and bone density. They provide other documented benefits. It is the soluble fibers in the diet that are so effective in stimulating the growth of good colon bacteria. How Much is Enough? The amount of fiber in food is measured in grams. The three major categories are whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Whole Grains. Wheat, oats, barley, wild or brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat, bulgur, corn, millet, quinoa, rye, sorghum, teff and triticals. By far, wheat, oats and wild or brown rice are most common. Always buy whole grain products. White bread, baked goods and rolls almost always are made from wheat flour. Wheat flour is white because most of the fiber, vitamins and other nutrients have been removed. Try not buy enriched grains. What this means is that simple white flour has had vitamins added to it by the manufacturer. The word, enriched, implies a good and healthy product. On the contrary, enriched means that most of the fiber has been removed and a few vitamins added. Fruits. Fruits come from trees such as apple and pear or from bushes or vines. You should eat a wide variety of fruits, preferably with every meal. In many cases, the skin of a fruit such as apple will contain much of the insoluble fiber while the pulp contains most of the soluble fiber. To the extent possible, buy organic fruits as these will have little or no pesticides. Always wash fruit. Vegetables. Eat a wide variety of vegetables. They should be a mainstay of lunch and dinners. Frozen vegetables retain as much nutrition and fiber as fresh vegetables. As with fruit, try to buy organic to reduce any residual pesticide ingestion. Wash fresh vegetables thoroughly. Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower contain certain chemicals such as sulforaphane. This substance has very strong anti- cancer properties and should be eaten frequently. Legumes, Beans, Peas and Soybeans. These vegetables have plenty of soluble fiber and should be part of a varied vegetable intake. Beans, in particular, contain a certain type of fiber that may lead to harmless gas or bloating. Nuts and Seeds. These are rich sources of fiber and are a good substitute for sweets such as candies and baked sweet goods. While nuts and seeds are rich in fiber, they also contain vegetable fat and so can and do add calories. Read the Labels. As noted, fresh and frozen foods are usually better. It is a soluble fiber with mucilage in it. This acts to retain a lot of water and also is fermented by colon bacteria. When 7 grams a day are used, it does lower cholesterol. Metamucil in various forms is psyllium. Methyl Cellulose. All the cellulose products come from finely ground wood chips which are then treated in a variety of ways such as boiling in acids. Methyl cellulose is an insoluble fiber which does dissolve in water. It is also an emulsifier, meaning it blends oils and water. Citrucel is methyl cellulose (MC). MC may not be appropriate for Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis as several medical studies have shown that certain emulsifiers dissolve the mucous lining of the colon in animals prone to Crohn’s disease. This then allows bacteria to invade the underlying tissue. Inulin. Inulin is a soluble prebiotic fiber found in many foods and which are fermented mostly in the left side of the colon. It is available in a supplement as generic inulin and in Fiber Choice. Oligofructose. FOSThese are also prebiotic fibers. They are fermented very quickly in the right side of the colon. This product is a combination of oligofructose, which feeds the bacteria in the right side of the colon and inulin, which does the same in the left side of the colon. There seems to be a benefit for this particular formula based on medical research. Prebiotic Soluble Fiber. These may be the healthiest of all the soluble fibers. Supplements such as Prebiotin can be added to the diet. Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA)Some rather remarkable research findings have shown that one of the benefits of ingesting a lot of soluble fiber, in particular the prebiotic ones, results in larger amounts of SCFAs in the colon. This disease is most common in Western cultures. It is not seen very often in rural African cultures where the diet is mostly plant based. Usually, colon cancer starts out as a colon polyp, a benign mushroom- shaped growth. In time it grows, and in some people it becomes cancerous. Colon cancer is usually always curable if polyps are removed when found or if surgery is performed at an early stage. It is now known that people can inherit the risk of developing colon cancer, but diet is important, too. As noted, there is a very low rate of colon cancer in residents of countries where grains are unprocessed and retain their fiber. It seems that in the Western world, cancer- containing agents (carcinogens) remain in contact with the colon wall for a longer time and in higher concentrations. So, a large bulky stool may act to dilute these carcinogens by moving them through the bowel more quickly. Less carcinogenic exposure to the colon may mean fewer colon polyps and less cancer. A very current review of the entire world’s literature on the effect of fiber on colon polyps and cancer prevention has shown rather clearly that for every 1. So the recommended 3. There are also substances produced in the colon by the good bacteria that seem to retard certain pre- cancer factors from developing. They are called short- chain fatty acids (SCFA). See above for description of SCFAs. A high fiber diet increases these substances. So, the combination of dietary fiber and the production of short- chain fatty acids have a clear health benefit. Fiber and Diverticulosis. Prolonged, vigorous contraction of the colon over a long period of time may result in diverticulosis. We now know that this has never been the case and that these foods contain lots of fiber and are actually beneficial for diverticulosis patients.
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November 2017
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