Let’s understand first what is fiber and why it is important in diet?
Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate. It is taken in as part of many foods, but most of it simply passes through the digestive tract because we do not possess the enzymes needed to break it down into a form that can be absorbed into the blood.
Some bacteria in the large intestine can degrade some components of fiber, releasing products that can be absorbed into the body and used as an energy source.
Two categories of fiber found in food :
1.Crude fiber called cellulose. Cellulose provides the structural framework for all plant materials. In other word, it forms and hold together the shape of a carrot, a bean, a squash and other plants. Cellulose is the most abundant organic chemical on earth, being found in fruits, vegetables and whole grain, cereals as well as in wood and leaves, stems and roots of all plant life.
Several other carbohydrates and related compounds called pectin, hemicelluloses and lignin are found in plant foods and are also resistant to digestion in the human digestive tract. These are known collectively as dietary fiber.
2.Dietary fiber can also be classified into soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber
Soluble fiber is found in fruits, some legumes and such grains as oats, rye and barley.
It dissolved in water to form a gel. This gel forms within the digestive tract and serves to slow the rate at which food passes through the small intestine. This in turn increases the rate of absorption of nutrients from the food. Soluble fiber is known to have cholesterol lowering effects because of its promotion of increased fecal excretion of bile acids, slower cholesterol and lipid absorption and increased production of short-chain fatty acids by fermentation in the large intestine.
The importance of these factors in the cholesterol lowering effect of soluble fiber is unknown.
Insoluble fiber
It is composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin-is found in vegetables and wheat bran. It tends to absorb water and increase in bulk, greatly contributing to the volume of stools or feces.
This causes insoluble fiber to increase gastrointestinal motility or in other words speed the movement of material through the GI tract, especially the colon.
so, start adding fiber in your diet.
For a healthy gut fiber plays an important role.
For more personal diet suggestions contact us at www.mindwell.co.in or call us on 9819901406/9819904411
