Fiber, Fiber, Fiber!
In nutrition fibre is the most important thing for good health.
The benefits are endless but here is some important ones:
- Reduces cholesterol and fat absoption, promotes heart health
- Binds to and gets rid of toxins, promotes bowel regularity
- Regulates blood sugar levels, helps with diabetes type 2
- Promotes healthy intestinal bacteria, helps with dysbiosis, bacterial imbalance, especially for IBS and IBD such as Crohn’s disease
- Helps with weight loss as it reduces appetite and keeps you satiated (full for longer)
The easiest way to get almost all the fibre you need is to eat lots of fruit and vegs; but here is some more info and other sources:
Soluble fibre, the kind that dissolves in water, is found in beans, barley, and peas. Pectin, a form of soluble fibre, is found in the skin of fruits and vegs, such as apple skin.
Mucilages, another soluble fibre, is found is seaweeds and flax seeds
Insoluble fibre, the kind that does not dissolves in water, is found in wheat bran and psyllium seed.
Cellulose, a type of insoluble fibre, is found in the peels of fruit and vegs.
Do you need to know all these different types? Certainly not, but you need to be aware that different types offer different benefits, and you need all of them! So diversity/variety is key. A rainbow of fiber everY day!! Whatever else you do, make sure you eat this ‘edible good health‘.. as much as you can, you can’t go wrong!
Drink lots of water with fibre to avoid getting ‘plugged up’. Start slow and build up gradually to avoid bloating and flatulence. Steaming the vegetables for 5 minutes is best for preserving the nutrients.
Once you enjoy this way of eating you won’t want processed food. And don’t forget, juicing may give you good nutrients but it removes the fiber!
For more info on Fiber and how to get enough in your diet click here
