What is Fiber?

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What is Fiber? JoAnn Guest Jul 24, 2003 15:14 PDT

What Is Fiber?

 

Fiber is a virtually indigestible substance that is found mainly in

the outer layers of plants.

 

Fiber is a special type of carbohydrate that passes through the human

digestive system virtually unchanged, without being broken down into

nutrients.

 

Carbohydrates constitute the main source of energy for all body

functions.

 

 

Almost everyone hears about the need for enough fiber in the diet.

But few people understand the importance of dietary fiber - or where

to get it.

 

Fiber is important because it has an influence on the digestion

process from start to finish:

 

Because it demands that food be more thoroughly chewed, fiber slows

down the eating process and helps contribute to a feeling of being

full, which in turn can help prevent obesity from overeating.

 

Fiber makes food more satisfying, probably because the contents of

the stomach are bulkier and stay there longer.

 

Fiber slows digestion and absorption so that glucose (sugar) in food

enters the bloodstream more slowly, which keeps blood sugar on a

more even level.

 

Fiber is broken down in the colon (the main part of the large

intestine) by bacteria (a process called fermentation), and the

simple organic acids produced by this breakdown helps to nourish the

lining of the colon.

 

These acids also provide fuel for the rest of the body, especially

the liver, and may have an important role in metabolism.

 

Substantial amounts of fiber can be found in foods such as:

 

All-natural Organic cereals

Organic whole grains

Beans

Fruits

Vegetables

Nuts

 

Nice To Know:

 

Only plants produce fiber.

 

No matter how chewy or " tough " animal products may be, they do not

contain fiber - not even bones or eggshells.

 

 

 

 

There are two main types of fiber, and they have different effects

on the body:

 

Insoluble fiber is mainly made up of plant cell walls, and it cannot

be dissolved in water. It has a good laxative action.

 

Soluble fiber is made up of polysaccharides (carbohydrates that

contain three or more molecules of simple carbohydrates), and it

does dissolve in water.

 

It has a beneficial effect on body chemistry, such as lowering blood

cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

 

Nice To Know:

 

Dietary fiber is essentially the cell walls of plants. Cell walls

provide the architecture or skeleton of a plant and serve several

purposes:

 

They enclose and package the nutritious parts of the plant,

especially the storage organs that are rich in starch, and the parts

of the cells that contain sugars, vitamins, and minerals.

 

They provide a tough protective armor around the embryo of the

future plant.

 

Nice To Know:

 

The understanding that fiber is good for you is relatively new.

Until the 1970s, fiber was regarded, at best, as a nonentity - and

at worst, as a hindrance to good nutrition.

 

This attitude stemmed from years of food shortages and widespread

undernutrition, when the aim was " getting the most out of food. "

 

Today, obesity is the most common form of malnutrition and is a

factor in the two major causes of death - heart disease and cancers.

 

So any food that helps people limit calories is desirable.

 

It was a naval doctor, T.L. Cleave (1906-83) who sparked the great

re-think about fiber. He argued that refined or fiber-depleted

carbohydrates are harmful in many ways.

 

He was supported by a surgeon from East Africa, Denis Burkitt, who

presented evidence that

Western diseases are rare in Africa and other third-world countries

where fiber intake is high.

 

 

Facts about fiber

 

Fiber keeps stool soft and keeps the contents of the intestines

moving. Americans consume only about 10% of the fiber that they did 100

years ago.

 

A good diet should contain approximately 35 to 50 grams of fiber a

day. The average American eats less than half of that.

 

The change in the way wheat was processed into flour at the turn of

the century-from a crushing to a finer rolling process - accounts

substantially for the depletion in dietary fiber.

 

Bran has the highest fiber content - about 25% to 45%.

 

 

Last Reviewed: 2002 by Guy Slowik, M.D.

http://health./centers/digestive/111.html

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Beans.html

http://www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/CholesterolFacts.html

 

 

 

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