Hope You've Had Your Fiber!

When one thinks of fiber, for some strange reason horse chaff and saw dusk seems to spring to mind but although these may well be high in fiber, they are not generally something you would picture in a tasty meal!

So what exactly is fiber...??? Fiber is a type of carbohydrate, which is not completely broken down in the body. It comes from the indigestible parts of plant materials. Its main role is to cleanse and maintain a healthy digestive system, but it has many other benefits also^{5, 6, 12_.}

There are two main forms of fibre; soluble and insoluble, and a third type known as resistant starch. They have different functions in the body, the below table lists these and some examples.

Fiber	Food sources	Role in the body
Soluble	Fruit and vegetables Oat bran, barley, flaxseed Psyllium and seed husks Dried beans, lentils, peas Soy products⁵.	Dissolves in water, bulking up with a gel consistency and slowing down the rate of digestion. This fiber can help prevent constipation and lower cholesterol levels ^{5, 9}.
Insoluble	Rice, wheat and corn bran Fruit and vegetable skins Nuts, seeds, dried beans Whole grains ⁶.	Does not dissolve in water, adds bulk passing through the digestive system unchanged and increasing the rate of digestion. This fiber can help prevent constipation and other associated conditions ^{5, 9}.
Resistant starch	Unprocessed cereals and grains, lentils Under ripe banana Cooked and cooled potato Hi – maize products. ^{5, 6 .}	Starchy part of food that resists normal digestion and is fermented by health promoting bacteria helping to keep the bowel lining healthy ^{5, 6}.

But I still don’t understand why I need to eat fiber???

Well fiber has many additional roles in the body other than the above, here are some:

Normalising and regulating bowel function, prevention and relief from constipation, haemorrhoids and diverticular disease ^{1, 5, 10, 12, 13}.
Aid in the reduction of total and LDL (bad) cholesterol ^{2, 3, 8, 11, 12}.
Reduction in the risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease ^{1, 5, 8, 10}.
May promote weight loss and maintenance by enhancing satiety and prolonging satiation after a meal ^{4, 5, 7}.
High dietary fiber intake may reduce the risk of some cancers including bowel or colon cancer ^{1, 4, 5, 10, 12}.
May help regulate and improve blood glucose levels, this is particularly beneficial for diabetics ^{1, 5, 10}.

How much fiber should I consume?

Nutritional experts recommend adults to have 25 to 30g of dietary fiber each day ^{6, 7_.}

Health Tips

Include sources of fiber in your diet such as fruit, vegetables and seeds, bran, husks and whole grains.
Eat the skins of fruit and vegetables that can be consumed.
If you are increasing your daily fiber intake, make this increase gradually.
Make sure you drink plenty of water each day, especially if you are taking fibre supplements.

Sound easy enough??? Why not give it a try, you just may find that increasing fiber intake is more beneficial than you think!

Last updated 17 June 2009