The Role of The Dietary Fiber

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that can be found in plants. It aids in preventing constipation. Dietary fiber can also help you feel full faster and help with digestion. Another benefit of dietary fiber is the prevention of some chronic diseases, including some cancers and heart disease. There are two types of dietary fiber they are soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber slows down digestion by attracting water and turning into a gel.

Since digestion is slowed down, the amount of time it takes for nutrients to become absorbed by the blood slows down as well. This helps to prevent a fast increase of blood sugar after eating, which helps to control the levels of blood sugar. This fiber can also help lower the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol levels by interfering with dietary fat and cholesterol absorption. Soluble fiber can be found in nuts, seeds, vegetables, some fruits, and oats. Insoluble fiber has a different function than soluble fiber. This fiber helps with stool. It helps to bulk the stool up and it also helps to speed up the digestive system by moving food and waste through the system more quickly. This type of fiber also helps to prevent constipation.

Another benefit of insoluble fiber is that it helps to balance the pH in the intestines, this can help to prevent colon cancer. Insoluble fiber can be found in vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and fruit. On average a person’s diet should consist of 25g per day. However, many Americans don’t get enough fiber in their everyday diet. Lacking the recommended amount of dietary fiber can lead to potential health risks. There are some easy things people can do to help ensure that they obtain enough fiber from their diet. It is recommended that instead of eating pasta, bread and rice that you switch to whole grain options. Another recommendation is to keep fresh fruits and vegetables handy for quick and easy snacks, this is a much better option than chips and crackers and helps provide fiber to your diet. These can include dark green and orange vegetables.

Another thing people can do to help obtain fiber to start the day off with a whole grain breakfast cereal. Although the soluble and insoluble fibers have different functions they share some similarities. Both of these dietary fibers are undigested which means that they are not absorbed into the bloodstream to be used for energy. Instead, these dietary fibers exit the body. Soluble and insoluble, fibers both help with digestion and help the body in many other ways. As you may have noticed many of the foods listed in the paragraphs above contain both types of fibers. When deciding what to eat, you don't necessarily have to look for food containing specifically soluble fiber or insoluble fibers some food such as oats contain both of these types of dietary fibers. Dietary fiber is part of a healthy diet. It has many health benefits such as preventing constipation, preventing colon cancer, reducing the risk of heart disease and much more. Dietary fiber is not just “dietary fiber” but soluble and insoluble fiber. Both of these fibers help to aid in the body’s digestive process. Dietary fiber can be found in fruits, vegetables, oats and many other foods. Most Americans don’t have enough fiber in their diet, however, there are many things you can do to help insure you get 25g per day.