High fiber foods for good health | Foods high in fibre | list veggies with high fibre

The importance of high fiber foods for good health 

What is fibre rich food?

Dietary fibre is parts of plant food that the body can not digest. Indigestible carbohydrates, lignin, a resistant starch portion of food from plants. Fibres provide less energy than other nutrients because they can not absorb completely in the body.

Our body can not digest or absorb fibres in the small intestine. Fibre also is known as roughage or bulk. We get fibre only from plant foods. Meat, fishes, and dairy products are deficient in fibre. It passes intact from our body. Fibre is an important part of a balanced diet. But most of the people do not eat fibre rich food in the proper amount. At least everyone adds 30 gm of fibre in their daily diet.

Mechanism of action

Dietary fibre acts through three mechanism-  bulking, viscosity, fermentation.

Bulking fibres

They absorb water and increase the bulk of stool.

Soluble  (psyllium)and insoluble fibre ( cellulose and hemicelluloses)

Viscous fibres

Thicken the food contents in the digestive system and reduces blood sugar and binds to bile acids in the small intestine reduce the cholesterol level.

Guar gum, beta-glucan, pectins

Fermentable fibres

Consumed by intestinal bacteria and increase bulk, form short-chain fatty acids as a byproduct.

Fibre is two types

Soluble fibre Lowers the cholesterol and blood sugar level. It dissolves in water and ferments in the digestive system.  Softens the stool so easy to pass.

Rich sources of soluble fibre

Fruits as apple and banana contain  1.1 gm fibre per .5 cup

Vegetables as carrots and potatoes  

Oats, barley, and rye

Golden linseeds                   

Insoluble fibre

These do not dissolve in the water so helps other food to pass through the digestive system easily.

To form bulk helps to relieve constipation and maintain the pH of the intestine.

Rich sources of insoluble fibre

Bran

Cereals

Wholemeal  bread

Nuts and seeds

Oatmeal and beans contain both soluble and insoluble fibre.

Plums and prune have insoluble fibre in thick skin and soluble fibre in the juicy pulp.

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Dietary fibre rich food

Dietary fibre found in fruit, vegetables, and whole grains.

Fibre keeps our bowel movements regular, relieve constipation, weight under control. Keep away from diabetes and heart disease. Lowers our cholesterol level, prevent from colon cancer, kidney stones.

Dietary fibre

Daily requirements

25 gm fibre for women

35 - 40 gm fibre for men

3 parts insoluble fibre and 1 part soluble fibre

Sources

Cooked dry beans (legumes)  .5 cup contains 8 gm of fibre

Dark green leafy vegetables .5 cup contains 6.4 gm fibre

Whole grains

28 gm contains 2.4 gm per serving

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Fibre-rich food supplements

These are marketed as nutritional supplements in gastrointestinal disorders, reducing body weight and lowers the cholesterol.

Soluble fibre supplements used in irritable bowel syndrome due to prebiotic soluble fibre inulin and oligosaccharides give relief bowel diseases. Insoluble fibre resistant corn starch reduce symptoms in ulcerative colitis.
                     

Functions of fibre rich food for good health

Bowel function

Fibre forms the bulk and softens the stool. It maintains the bowel healthy and prevents constipation. Increase the rate of toxic substances from the gut.

Improve digestion

Heart health

Lowers the bad cholesterol level in the blood. Helps in bile excretion. So body absorbs less cholesterol.

Blood sugar check

Soluble fibre reduces the glucose release from digested food so prevent a rise in blood sugar level. So helps in diabetes control.

Weight loss

Eating a high fibre diet keep us full for a longer time so we eat less during weight loss program.

Oats, oats bran, psyllium husk and flaxseeds are rich in soluble and insoluble fibres. Our aim is to eat 5 serving of fruit and vegetables per day. So we take 25-  30 gm of fibre in our diet.                                                                                                            Adding fibre rich food to our diet is very much beneficial to our health. If we take high fibre diet it protects from heart disease by lowering cholesterol level.                                         Insoluble fibres prevent constipation, colitis, colon cancer.                                    Diabetic people if eat fibre rich food then need less insulin than others.                            Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are full of nutrients so they maintain our overall health.

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