We all have heard about the importance of fiber, but very few of us know why it is good for us. Do you know how to get enough fiber?
Today I am are here with the 10 health benefits of eating more fiber. But I will also tell you about the best high fiber foods as well as how you can have more fiber in your diet.
Fiber is an essential nutrient which should be consumed daily in any form to live a longer healthier life. But we often overlook this nutrient. And even many people aren’t getting enough of fiber.
Is your diet lacking in fiber? Maybe YES!
Why is Fiber good for you?
Fiber helps our body by absorbing all the nutrients from the food we intake and eliminates all the toxins.
Fiber helps our body in maintaining a proper and consistent energy level as well as it sufficiently fills us up.
Furthermore, fiber helps in healthy digestion and maintains our healthy body weight. It even helps in preventing Type 2 Diabetes and cancer along with other health benefits.
I have heard someone asking a nutritionist about Fiber and the nutritionist said that Fiber is considered to be a real fountain of youth. YES!
Fiber is one of the best superfood nutrients which helps in extending our lives as well as keep us well. In a published meta-analysis, it is said that “every 10 grams of fiber consumed per day cut mortality risk by 10 percent.” (American Journal of Epidemiology)
No one has ever thought fiber as an exciting nutrient, and it even isn’t so but here today after I will discuss the health benefits of eating more fiber, you will be going to change your mind for sure.
There are two types of fiber- Soluble and Insoluble, both play different roles in our body.
The soluble fiber helps in lowering the cholesterol and blood sugar levels. These are found in foods including beans, oatmeal, and some vegetables and fruits.
The insoluble fiber helps in eliminating the toxins from the digestive tract. These are found in foods including bran, kidney beans, whole grains and fruits, and vegetables.
Both of this fiber is found in the plant foods. Oils, meat, eggs, and dairy products don’t contain any fiber.
10 Health Benefits of Eating More Fiber
1. Maintains Healthy Digestive System
Fiber reduces constipation and supports a healthy digestive system.
For instance, let’s take a common age-related digestive disorder, Diverticulitis. It is a problem of inflammation of the intestine.
The intake of superfoods which are rich in insoluble fiber helps in reducing the risk by 40% of diverticulitis.
2. Maintains Healthy Weight
Fiber makes a person feel full and satisfied. YES!
14 grams of fiber per day helps in reducing the calorie intake by 10 percent.
A gel is created when water mixes with soluble fiber. This gel helps in slowing down the process of absorbing the sugars in our bloodstream. And it further gives our stretch receptors in the stomach a trigger saying, you’ve had enough.
3. Lose Weight
If you increase the intake of fiber in your diet, it will help you in reducing your weight. YES! Besides maintaining healthier weight over time, fiber helps in losing pounds.
Fiber-rich foods make you feel full and satisfied. It even helps in preventing our body to absorb the calories.
4. Detoxify Your Body
Intake of foods rich in fiber helps in detoxifying the body. YES! Your body will quickly get rid of toxins. Fiber aids in extracting the liquid containing the toxins and allowing the body to expel those substances.
5. Control of Blood Sugar and Reduce Type 2 Diabetes
One of the best abilities fiber has regulated blood sugar. And this is one of the primary reasons the dieticians recommend people with diabetes to intake more legumes and beans.
Beans and Legumes are the superfoods which are rich in high-fiber. These foods help in slowing down the process of absorbing the glucose and regulate the blood sugar.
No matter whether you have diabetes or prediabetes or want to have a steady blood sugar level, to feel the best, you have to intake a low sugar, high fiber addition to beans as your plant-powered diet.
Recommended for you:
Why is it Important to Stay Fit and Healthy?
6. Good for Heart Health
Most of the cardiologists’ advice people to take oatmeal in their breakfast and it is because oatmeal is one of the best superfoods which is highly abundant in soluble fiber.
The soluble fiber in the oats helps in decreasing the LDL (bad) cholesterol and doesn’t affect the HDL (good) cholesterol.
Thus, a diet rich in fiber helps in lowering the risk of coronary artery disease as well as cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, fiber even helps in reducing inflammation and blood pressure.
7. Prevents Cancer
Fiber plays a vital role in our waste removal system of a body. It regularly helps in eliminating the carcinogens. For instance, fiber helps to improve the transit time in the intestine by eliminating the carcinogens and thus prevents colorectal cancer.
Fiber doesn’t only reduces colorectal cancer but even helps in reducing the risk of other cancer forms including throat, breast, mouth, and prostate.
The high dietary fiber diet by women helps in reducing the lifetime risk of developing breast cancer.
8. Live Longer
People who intake more of fiber-rich foods including whole grains and cereals have a reduced risk of death. Also, fiber helps in healthier gut bacteria which help in reducing the inflammation within the body.
9. Be more, well, regular
Constipation is one of the most common problems faced by people nowadays. And yes, it is not weird to talk about it anymore. Fiber helps in making your poop bulkier as well as softer. Also, it helps in natural elimination from your body.
10. Healthier Bones
I have talked about the soluble fiber at the beginning of this article which is the prebiotics. Those fiber are found in oats, asparagus, wheat, leeks, and soybeans. This soluble fiber helps in increasing the bioavailability of minerals including calcium. Calcium helps in maintaining the bone density in our body.
Final Words
Now that you know the health benefits of eating more fiber, it’s time to take action for your health. So, if you weren’t eating more fiber, add it to your diet slowly. Don’t increase the intake of fiber quickly in your diet as it can cause some side effects including gas and bloat.
And don’t forget to drink plenty of water after increasing the fiber intake. When your body gets used to the increased consumption of fiber, there won’t be any discomfort afterward.
Now, I hope that if someone would ask you why fiber is good for you or the health benefits of fiber, then you can adequately answer them.
Recommended posts for you:
12 Healthy Snacks Proven To Help You Lose Weight Fast
Top Health Benefits of Eating Chicken