Are you thinking of the holidays? Here in the United States Thanksgiving will be a week away. Enjoy the wonderful foods throughout the next month. But don’t forget the benefits of staying full on fiber. It keeps you full and helps to flush the heavier carbohydrates through your digestive system.

Fiber comes under the heading of complex carbohydrate. Carbohydrates are divided into two classes. Complex carbohydrate (starch, and fiber), and simple carbohydrates (sugars).

The term fiber is used by almost everyone as if it represented a single entity. To chemists, however, there are many compounds, mostly carbohydrates, that make up fiber. Together, these compounds are defined as those components of food that are indigestible in the intestine, and that therefore, give bulk to the intestinal contents.

If you don’t have enough fiber in your diet, you are likely to suffer from several diseases, according to recent evidence, such as cancer, diverticulosis, atherosclerosis, and other disorders. A diet with ample fiber offers many benefits. For example wheat bran relieves constipation.

Fabulous Fiber Facts:

Fiber promotes weight loss by creating a feeling of fullness; high fiber foods displace concentrated fats and sweets, with their calories, from the diet.

Fiber attracts water into the digestive tract, thus softening the stools; this prevents constipation and relieves the intestinal pressure that would lead to hemorrhoids.

Fiber keeps the intestinal contents moving preventing bacterial infection of the appendix (appendicitis).

Fiber stimulates the muscles of the digestive tract so that they retain their health and tone; thus prevents diverticulosis, in which the instestinal walls become weak and bulge out in places.

The best benefit of fiber is that it speeds up the passage of food materials through the digestive tract, thus shortening the “transit time” and helping to minimize exposure of the digestive tract walls to cancer-causing agents in food.

Fiber binds fatty compounds (sterols) and carries them out of the body with the feces so that the blood cholesterol concentration is lowered and possibly the risk of heart and artery disease as well.

Fiber changes the body’s response to glucose, digested starch, in the presence of fiber, produces a more even rise in blood glucose. This can be important for people with diabetes.

However, not all the fibers have similar effects. For example, wheat bran, which is composed mostly of celllose, has no cholesterol lowering effect, whereas oat bran and the fibers of legumes and apples do lower blood cholesterol. On the other hand wheat bran seems to be one of the most effective stool-softening fibers. 

A diet rich in fiber may not only protect against diabetes and heart disease, it may reduce the risk of developing lung disease, according to new research published online, ahead of print in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

“Lung disease is an important public health problem, so it’s important to identify modifiable risk factors for prevention.” said lead author Corrine Hanson PhD, RD, and assistant professor of medical nutrition at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. “However, beyond smoking very few preventive strategies have been identified. Increasing fiber intake may be a practical and effective way for people to have an impact on their risk of lung disease.”

Most fibers are classified as soluble, which dissolves in water, or insoluble, which doesn’t dissolve in water.

Soluble Fiber – This type of fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like material. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots, barley and psyllium.

Insoluble Fiber – This type of fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk, so it can be a benefit to those who struggle with constipation or irregular stools. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, beans and vegetables, such as cauliflower, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber.

Most plant-based foods, such as oatmeal and beans, contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. However, the amount of each type varies in different plant foods. To receive the greatest health benefit, eat a wide variety of high-fiber foods.

The Institute of Medicine, provides science-based advice on matters of medicine and health, gives the following daily fiber recommendations for adults:

Age 50 or younger – Men should have 38 grams

Age 51 or older – Men should have 30 grams

Age 50 or younger – Women should have 25 grams

Age 51 or older – Women should have 21 grams

To increase your fiber intake some good options are:

• Whole-grain products
• Fruits
• Vegetables
• Beans, peas, and other legumes
• Nuts and seeds
• Brown rice

Note: If you are gluten sensitive be aware of which grains have gluten. Wheat, rye, barley and spelt are a few. And gluten free grains can often contain flours that can contribute to raising glucose levels, being that they are starch based.

If you think you may be sensitive to too much fiber, start slowly.