Information About Fiber and Why we Need it
Dietary fiber is the name given by nutritionists to those components of food that do not undergo digestion and are passed out in the stool. It has long been known that this fiber aids in relieving constipation. This is because fiber absorbs water, which causes the fibers to swell and increase in size. The stool is thus softened, and this, together with its increased bulk, aids in its evacuation.
Dietary fiber is made up of a number of substances. The fiber found in bran of cereal grains. Composed primarily of celluloses and ligins, comprises about 20 percent of dietary fiber. The rest comes from the cell walls of plants and other complex carbohydrates such as hemicelluloses and pectins. Whole grain cereals, together with fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds are an excellent source of fiber.
Dietary fiber plays many important roles in preventing or relieving a number of serious disorders. Here are list of benefits to eating plenty of fiber:
- As mentioned earlier fiber relieves constipation.
- Fiber lowers the incidence of cancer of the colon and rectum. Because it increases the size of the mass in the intestine, fiber speeds up the food residue through the large bowel, thus reducing the time that cancer-producing agents are in actual contact with the lining of the colon. Fiber also alters the types of microorganisms in the colon so that organisms that produce cancer-causing chemicals are greatly reduced, and it dilutes any carcinogenic substances present in the bowel.
- Dietary fiber, especially water-soluble fiber e.g., pectins in fruits and fiber in oats and beans, lowers blood cholesterol levels, thus reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease and stroke. The fiber in whole wheat does not lower blood cholesterol.
- Fiber reduces or in some cases eliminates hypoglycemia and diabetes, especially type II or adult onset diabetes, and it makes type 1 diabetes i.e., juvenile diabetes, easier to control.
- Fiber also lessens obesity. Unrefined foods contain more fiber, and because of that, they have fewer calories.
Different fractions of dietary fiber have different effects. Consuming large amounts of crude fiber, the type usually added to foods, may not achieve the desired result.
