DIET: HIGH FIBER
A high-fiber diet has many benefits, which include:
- Prevents constipation. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. A bulky stool is easier to pass, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have loose, watery stools, fiber may also help to solidify the stool because it absorbs water and adds bulk to stool.
- Lowers your risk of digestive conditions. A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of specific disorders, such as hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and the development of small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease).
- Lowers blood cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or "bad," cholesterol levels.
- Controls blood sugar levels. Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, can slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes, can help improve blood sugar levels. A high-fiber diet may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
- Aids in weight loss. High-fiber foods generally require more chewing time, which gives your body time to register when you're no longer hungry, so you're less likely to overeat. Also, a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal feel larger and linger longer, so you stay full for a greater amount of time. And high-fiber diets also tend to be less "energy dense," which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.
- May reduce your risk of colorectal cancer. Larger and better-designed studies have recently failed to show a link between fiber and colon cancer. One of these - a Harvard study that followed over 80,000 female nurses for 16 years - found that dietary fiber was not strongly associated with a reduced risk for either colon cancer or polyps (a precursor to colon cancer). Just because fiber plays little role in preventing colon cancer doesn't mean you should abandon a high-fiber diet. As noted above, fiber provides many other benefits.
Some tips for increasing fiber intake:
- Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juices.
- Replace white rice, bread, and pasta with brown rice and whole-grain products.
- Choose whole-grain cereals for breakfast.
- Snack on raw vegetables instead of chips, crackers, or chocolate bars.
- Substitute legumes for meat two to three times per week in chili and soups.
- Experiment with international dishes (such as Indian or Middle Eastern) that use whole grains and legumes as part of the main meal (as in Indian dahls) or in salads (for example, tabbouleh).
See Also:
Diet Types
Diet: Atkins
Diet: Meat Consumption
Diet: Mediterranean
Diet: TABB (Trim & Beautiful Bodies)
Diet: Vegetarian
Diet: Low Fat
Diet: Stomach Shrinkage
Diet: Zone Diet
Diet: Zone Diet & Athletes
Diet: Chonic Fatigue
Diet: Low Sodium
