Why Fiber Is Key

You may have heard about fiber. And you may know that you get it from the foods you eat, but are you aware of much beyond that?This article will share some little-known facts about the fibers and the beneficial effect they have over your body.

First of all, let me explain what fiber is…

What Is Fiber and Why Do I Need It?

Fiber is an indigestible part of all plant foods. It is found in fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans.

Your digestive system cannot stomach fiber, so it is excreted undigested. This fact may make you may think you don’t need fiber, since it’s excreted undigested, but that’s not true.Let’s imagine the following picture:

You overeat at least once or twice a week, usually on the weekends, and your regular menu doesn’t include much fiber. This might be your lifestyle, however, you may notice that it causes you one or more of the following health problems:

– indigestion

– discomfort stomach aches

– gases in the digestive tract

– constipation

– hemorrhoids

– fatigue

– inability to concentrate

You may become less productive at work and more irritable at home. Besides all this, you gain weight, and that’s the moment when you realize you have a problem. In order to solve a problem, you should first find the reason for it.

In this case, it’s the lowered intake of fiber-rich foods and respectively – the higher intake of foods containing no fiber (like meat).
The average recommended amount of fiber intake is about 25-30 grams per day. Unfortunately, most people’s regular diets include less than 10-15 grams daily.

Foods To Increase Your Fiber Intake

You can increase you fiber intake by starting to consume more fiber-rich foods like the following:

– beans

– peas

– spinach

– sweet corn

– red cabbage

– carrots

– all fruits like apples, bananas, and oranges

If you start eating more food rich in fiber, you’ll be amazed by the beneficial effects you notice all over your body, health, and way of life.

Types of Fiber

There are two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble. 

Soluble fiber forms into a glue-like gel in the intestinal tract. This gel softens stools (no more constipation) and improves your digestion (no more indigestion).

Fiber slows down stomach emptying and this effect helps you to feel fuller for longer. Because of this increased sense of fullness, we tend to eat less and that, in conjunction with our bodies burning additional calories trying to digest that fiber, we can lose weight just by increasing our fiber intake.

Insoluble fiber is an excellent natural laxative. It has the ability to hold onto water and push waste faster along the intestines. This increase in production caused by fiber actually decreases the risk of colon cancer.

You won’t be sorry if you start eating more fiber-rich foods. Like many other people, I used to take not enough fiber, and then I started to include more fruits and fiber-rich foods in my daily menu.

It has really worked out well for me, and now fiber-rich food is a very important and nutritious part of my regular diet.

Interested in learning more about Synergy Health Management? Sign up for our newsletter here or sign up to schedule a call with Patrina here.