Natural Healing Recipes

How does a diet low in fiber affect you?

Maybe the most common complaint people have, especially as they get older, is constipation and a variety of digestive disorders. It’s not something that happens overnight, but over a period of time. A diet chronically lacking a sufficient amount of water and fiber-rich carbohydrates can lead to a host of very unpleasant consequences.

Any kind of meat, fish and dairy product has practically no fiber. It comes almost exclusively from plant-based foods like natural fruits, vegetables, beans, whole-grains, nuts and seeds.

Highly refined grains (such as white wheat flour) are plant foods.  However, they have been stripped of nutrient-rich components. The refining process destroys the benefit of fiber for digestion.

Cravings for a certain taste and texture are the main reason for baking with refined grains. White bread and fine pastries laden with added sugar can load you with quick calories, but do little else. Healthy whole wheat bread has 3 or more grams of fiber per slice.

Natural whole plant foods provide the best source of fuel for producing energy in your body. This fuel comes in the form of proteins, carbohydrates, low amounts of fatty acids (with few exceptions) and an enormous richness of nutrients essential for your body’s ability to heal itself.

Sugar is a carbohydrate in plants able to give you a quick boost in energy. Soluble and insoluble fiber in its whole and unrefined state is another form of carbohydrates. It’s equally important for creating your optimum health without adding extra calories.

Whole fiber helps your body to smoothly and efficiently move digesting substances through your digestive tract to allow slow absorption of nutrients and avoid undesirable fluctuations in your blood sugar level that can lead to diabetes.

Let’s take for example an apple, to explain the difference between the soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can be found in the pulp and insoluble fiber in the skin. Both resist digestion in the small intestine, but help with the efficient transition of digestive substances and absorption of water.

In the large intestine, soluble fiber with the help of beneficial bacteria goes through a fermentation process to absorb remaining nutrients. In addition, a well functioning fermentation process produces conditions to help stabilize blood sugar levels, to reduce levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, to support the immune responses, and to protect the mucous layer and walls of the colon.

The insoluble fiber remains undigested, but has the ability to absorb excess water and increases the bulk of fecal substances to be evacuated often and with little effort.

Removing waste after every major meal naturally also minimizes chances of toxic buildup in your colon. This may reduce your risk for cancer and other very irritating and painful disorders.

The best way to keep your digestive system in top shape requires a balance of a healthy amount of dietary soluble and insoluble fiber, plenty of clean liquids (ideally clean water) for absorption and stimulating mucous production for lubrication along the intestinal walls.

How do I know if I get enough fiber and water? Actually, it can be quite simple for any reasonably healthy person wanting to feel better and more alive.

Maybe the clearest indicator of a diet lacking in fiber is the regularity of your daily bowel movement. More than once daily is normal (ideally after every main meal after completing the digestive process).

Secondly, but equally important, is the ease of elimination. When the conditions are just right, the digestive substance moves naturally without extra strain on your part through the digestive tract. If you have to engage your lower abdominal muscles and apply extra pressure to eliminate the waste, then make gradual adjustments in your dietary fiber intake, until you find the right balance.

For most adults, a healthy daily intake of dietary fiber in the range of 20 to 35 grams is recommended. (It varies with age, gender and daily total calories consumed) The key is keeping dietary intake of fiber and water consistent. Conditions like chronic constipation can be resolved naturally over time with plant-based fiber rich foods and without getting addicted to the use of chemical laxatives, which can become very dangerous if used improperly.

Plant-based foods high in fiber also can help in effectively managing your body weight.  Fiber has no calories and absorbs water. Consider eating an apple for a snack. It has the same amount of calories as 1/2 –cup of pure apple juice.  But, you will find eating the apple will take a lot longer and more easily satisfy your need for nourishment. This is a simple way to reduce your calories and undesirable weight gain. Additionally, you get a lot more fiber and nutrients with the apple. Excess calories lead to weight gain.

Finally, let me give you some other plant-based foods rich in fiber.  Some of the highest soluble fiber content you will find are in dry beans or already cooked canned organic beans.

Berries and fruits, such as apples, pears, and bananas provide an excellent source of fiber. So are vegetables like carrots, broccoli or sweet potatoes. Or, grains like barley and oats.

You can find insoluble fiber in wheat bran, wheat germ and other whole grain foods. It also includes seeds and nuts, as well as vegetables like celery, cauliflower and green beans. Add zucchini, winter squash and the skins of a broad variety of fruits like apples and tomatoes. Ideally, you want both types of fiber in your healthy diet.

To discover how to incorporate more fiber into your diet and more secrets to awaken your body’s natural ability to heal, go to http://www.NaturalHealingRecipes.com right now.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 21st, 2006 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Natural Healing Techniques. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.