The High - Fiber Diet: Why this Diet? - Foods to Avoid

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THE HIGH-FIBER DIET: Why this diet? -Foods to avoid

JoAnn Guest

Nov 07, 2004 19:24 PST

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HIGH-FIBER DIET: Why this diet? -Foods to avoid

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While the current American diet averages only about 10 grams of dietary

fiber per day, intakes of 25 to 40 grams of fiber per day are linked to

a reduced risk of developing a host of chronic diseases, including

cancer, heart disease, and gastrointestinal conditions. High-fiber diets

have also been suggested to protect against obesity.

 

Fiber falls into two general categories—water-soluble (found mostly in

oats, fruit, and legumes) and water-insoluble (found mostly in grains

and vegetables). As each type of fiber has different benefits, most

people on high-fiber diets are generally advised to increase their

intake of foods that feature both soluble and insoluble fiber.

 

Why do people follow this diet?

 

Some scientists believe that whole grains, containing high amounts of

insoluble fiber, protect against several forms of cancer.

 

In an analysis of the data from many studies, people who eat relatively

high amounts of whole grains were reported to have low risks of

lymphomas and cancers of the pancreas, stomach, colon, rectum, breast,

uterus, mouth, throat, liver, and thyroid. Most research focusing on the

relationship between cancer and fiber has focused on breast and colon

cancers.

 

A diet high in fiber is protective against heart disease. Soluble fiber

from beans, oats, psyllium seed, and fruit pectin has lowered

cholesterol levels in most trials. Diets high in overall fiber have

reduced triglyceride levels in several clinical trials, but have had no

effect in others.

 

Research suggests that soluble, not insoluble, fibers are helpful in

lowering triglyceride levels. A high-fiber diet that features both

soluble and insoluble fibers also seems to reduce the risk of both fatal

and nonfatal heart attacks.

 

High-fiber diets also may be beneficial for certain gastrointestinal

conditions. Fiber slows the movement of food and acidic fluid from the

stomach to the intestines. It may help people with duodenal ulcers by

reducing the exposure of the small intestine to stomach acids.

 

Diverticular disease has become increasingly common and is thought to be

due primarily to the consumption of a low-fiber diet; diets high in

fiber have consequently been shown to protect against diverticular

disease.

 

Preliminary evidence suggests that high-fiber diets also may benefit

people with type 2 diabetes, as well people with chronic pancreatitis.

More research is needed to confirm these relationships.

 

In addition to reducing the risk of certain chronic diseases, high-fiber

diets may have other benefits. Fiber fills the stomach, thereby reducing

appetite. Recent research has suggested that high-fiber diets may

protect against obesity.

 

Increased intake of fiber promotes digestive health and reduces

constipation. Additionally, high fiber foods are generally rich in

vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that are important for overall

health.

 

Although people can be allergic to certain high-fiber foods (most

commonly wheat), high-fiber diets are more likely to improve health than

cause any health problems.

Beans, a good source of soluble fiber, contain special sugars that are

often poorly digested, often leading to flatulence (gas).

 

Cooking beans with kombu (a type of seaweed) or using an enzyme

supplement called alpha-galactosidase can help reduce this problem by

improving digestion of these sugars.

 

Fiber reduces the absorption of most minerals. To minimize this effect,

multimineral supplements should not be taken at the same time as a

high-fiber meal.

 

What do I need to avoid?

Avoid food products made with processed grains, such as white flour or

white rice, as they contain minimal fiber content.

 

Eat fresh fruits and vegetables, as opposed to drinking fruit and

vegetable juices, since fiber is removed during the juicing process.

 

Best bets:

 

Unprocessed Beans

Organic Bran cereals

Organic Flaxseeds

Organic Fruits

Oat bran

Raw walnuts

Psyllium seeds

Rye

Vegetables

Organic Wheat bran

Ezekiel bread- www.food-for-life.com

Whole grains: wheat berries, barley, rye, bulgar, buckwheat

Whole-wheat pasta

 

Are there any groups or books associated with this diet?

 

High Fiber, High Flavor: Delicious Recipes for Good Health by Rosemary

Moon, Toronto: Firefly Books, 2000.

 

The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen, Berkeley, CA: Ten Speed

Press, 2000.

 

366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains by Andrea Chesman,

New York: Plume, 1998.

 

The Corinne T. Netzer Fiber Counter by Corinne T. Netzer, New York: Dell

Books, 1994.

 

Bibliography

Anderson JW, Allgood LD, Lawrence A, et al. Cholesterol-lowering effects

of psyllium intake adjunctive to diet therapy in men and women with

hypercholesterolemia: meta-analysis of 8 controlled trials. Am J Clin

Nutr 2000;71:472–9.

 

Anderson JW, Chen WJL. Legumes and their soluble fiber: effect on

cholesterol-rich lipoproteins. In Unconventional Sources of Dietary

Fiber. Furda I, ed., Washington, DC: American Chemical Society, 1983.

 

Anderson JW, Gustafson NJ. High-carbohydrate, high-fiber diet. Postgrad

Med 1987;82:40–55 [review].

 

Baghurst PA, Rohan TE. High-fiber diets and reduced risk of breast

cancer. Int J Cancer 1994;56:173–6.

 

Brown L, Rosner B, Willett WW, Sacks FM. Cholesterol-lowering effects of

dietary fiber: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 1999;69:30–42.

 

Dutta SK, Hlasko J. Dietary fiber in pancreatic disease: effect of high

fiber diet on fat malabsorption in pancreatic insufficiency and in vitro

study of the interaction of dietary fiber with pancreatic enzymes. Am J

Clin Nutr 1985;41:517–25.

 

Fuchs CS, Giovannucci EL, Colditz GA, et al. Dietary fiber and the risk

of colorectal cancer and adenoma in women. N Engl J Med 1999;340:169–76.

 

 

Glore SR, Van Treeck D, Knehans AW, Guild M. Soluble fiber and serum

lipids: a literature review. J Am Dietet Assoc 1994;94:425–36.

 

Grimes DS, Goddard J. Gastric emptying of wholemeal and white bread. Gut

1977;18:725–9.

 

Hallfrisch J, Scholfield DJ, Behall KM. Diets containing soluble oat

extracts improve glucose and insulin responses of moderately

hypercholesterolemic men and women. Am J Clin Nutr 1995;61:379–84.

 

Handler S. Dietary fiber: Can it prevent certain colonic diseases?

Postgrad Med 1983;73:301–7.

 

Hill MJ. Cereals, cereal fibre and colorectal cancer risk: a review of

the epidemiological literature. Eur J Cancer Prev 1997;6:219–25.

 

Landin K, Holm G, Tengborn L, Smith U. Guar gum improves insulin

sensitivity, blood lipids, blood pressure, and fibrinolysis in healthy

men. Am J Clin Nutr 1992;56:1061–5.

 

La Vecchia C, Ferraroni M, Franceschi S, et al. Fibers and breast cancer

risk. Nutr Cancer 1997;28:264–9.

 

Jacobs DR Jr, Marquart L, Salvin J, Kushi LH. Whole-grain intake and

cancer: an expanded review and meta-analysis. Nutr Cancer 1998;30:85–96.

 

 

Ludwig DS, Pereira MA, Kroenke CH, Hilner JE, Van Horn L, Slattery ML,

Jacobs DR Jr. Dietary fiber, weight gain, and cardiovascular disease

risk factors in young adults. JAMA 1999;282:1539–46.

 

Miettinen TA, Tarpila S. Effect of pectin on serum cholesterol, fecal

bile acids and biliary lipids in normolipidemic and hyperlipidemic

individuals. Clin Chim Acta 1977;79:471–7.

 

O’Keefe SJD, Kidd M, Espitalier-Noel G, Owira P. Rarity of colon cancer

in Africans is associated with low animal product consumption, not

fiber. Am J Gastroenterol 1999;94:1373–80.

 

Pietinen P, Rimm EB, Korhonen P, et al. Intake of dietary fiber and risk

of coronary heart disease in a cohort of Finnish men. The

Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study. Circulation

1996;94:2720–7.

 

Rao GN, Ney E, Herbert RA. Influence of diet on mammary cancer in

transgenic mice bearing an oncogene expressed in mammary tissue. Breast

Cancer Res Treat 1997;45:149–58.

 

Rimm EB, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, et al. Vegetable, fruit, and cereal

fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease among men. JAMA

1996;275:447–51.

 

Ripsin CM, Keenan JM, Jacobs DR, et al. Oat products and lipid

lowering—a meta-analysis. JAMA 1992;267:3317–25.

 

Rodríguez-Morán M, Guerrero-Romero F, Lazcano-Burciaga G. Lipid- and

glucose-lowering efficacy of plantago psyllium in type II diabetes.

Diabetes Its Complications 1998;12:273–8.

 

Romero AL, Romero JE, Galaviz S, Fernandez ML. Cookies enriched with

psyllium or oat bran lower plasma LDL cholesterol in normal and

hypercholesterolemic men from Northern Mexico. J Am Coll Nutr

1998;17:601–8.

 

Rydning A, Berstad A, Aadland E, Odegaard B. Prophylactic effect of

dietary fiber in duodenal ulcer disease. Lancet 1982;ii:736–9.

 

Schwartz SE, Levine RA, Weinstock RS, et al. Sustained pectin ingestion:

effect on gastric emptying and glucose tolerance in

non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Am J Clin Nutr 1988;48:1413–7.

 

Wolk A, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al. Long-term intake of dietary fiber

and decreased risk of coronary heart disease among women. JAMA

1999;281:1998–2004.

_________________

 

JoAnn Guest

mrsjo-

DietaryTi-

www.geocities.com/mrsjoguest/Genes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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