Dietary Fiber - Eat a High Fiber Diet To Lose Weight & Remove Toxins

Roughage is an important component of our diet. We get this roughage or fiber from complex starches, fruits and vegetables in our diet. Fiber is a thread like, elongated structure of organic tissue such as a muscle fiber or a nerve fiber. In terms of nutrition and diet therapy, fiber consists of non-digestible materials which includes plant fibers such as cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin, gums, agar, pectins and mucilages along with animal tissues such as ligaments in meats and undigested pharmaceutical products.

In nutrition, plant polysaccharides and lignin that are not digested in the human intestine, are called dietary fibers or "unavailable" carbohydrates.

These are:

• Insoluble dietary fibers
  
• Soluble dietary fibers

Insoluble fiber comprises of cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin, which do not dissolve in water but they absorb water and thus contribute bulk to the stools and prevent constipation and diverticulosis. Insoluble fibers are only 10-15% digested.

Soluble dietary fiber includes pectins, gums, mucilages and algal substances. Soluble fibers are 90- 99% digested in the body and some of them also undergo fermentation by the bacteria in the colon, producing short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Soluble fibers are useful in managing obesity, lowering blood cholesterol, cardiovascular disease and preventing colon cancer.

Recommended daily intake of dietary fiber is 20-35 grams per day for adults. The important functions of dietary fiber in the body are:

• Fiber holds water and behaves like a sponge when it passes through the gastrointestinal tract.
  
  
• Fiber adds bulk to the diet, therefore it helps in satiety when on weight loss diets.
  
  
• It increases transit time in the gut and reduces the time of release of ingested food in the colon, thereby preventing colon cancer.
  
  
• It stimulates contraction of muscular walls of the digestive canal tract thus counteracting the tendency to constipation.
  
  
• It binds to bile salts and prevents reabsorption and thus reduces cholesterol in circulation.
  
  
• It is also reported to reduce post-prandial glucose in the blood.

Recent studies have shown that gum found in Fenugreek seeds (it contains of40% of gum) is most effective in reducing blood glucose levels and cholesterol levels as compared to other gums.

Overdose
Overdose of fiber can cause diarrhea in persons not accustomed to fiber intake, so it should be wisely incorporated into your diet. Too much fiber may also interfere with the absorption of calcium and zinc.

Sources
Good food sources for insoluble fibers are bran, whole wheat, cereal grains, cabbage, green leafy vegetables, peas and beans.

Good food sources for soluble fibers are fruits, rolled oats, oat brans, tubers, dried beans, peas and other legumes.

50 grams of bran or 100 grams of raw carrots or 150 grams of apples or 200 grams of oranges can alone hold 200ml of water in the body.

Dietary fiber in some fruits, raw vegetables and cereals:

Thus roughage in the diet is necessary for the mechanism of digestion, bowel movement, elimination of wastes and obtaining other desirable attributes. Requirements for its daily intake can be easily met by including five or more servings of vegetables and fruits and including six or more servings of whole wheat, bread and legumes in the diet. Need more reasons to include dietary fiber in your diet? If not, then start eating more fiber today and take advantage of its benefits to help your body cleanse!

By Tanweer Fatima