On Healthy Living

So we always hear how we should eat fiber, that it’s good, and that unfortunately, most people don’t eat near enough of it. If you’re however like me, who wants or even needs to know “why” before doing something (is it a good or bad habit, I don’t know…), this article published on the Mayo Clinic website will hopefully take care of the why part:

A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of specific disorders, such as hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and the development of small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease). Fiber — particularly soluble fiber — can also lower blood cholesterol levels and slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes, can help improve blood sugar levels. A high-fiber diet may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Eating a high-fiber diet may also help with weight loss. High-fiber foods generally require more chewing time, which gives your body time to register when you’re no longer hungry, so you’re less likely to overeat. Also, a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal feel larger and linger longer, so you stay full for a greater amount of time. And high-fiber diets tend to be less “energy dense,” which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.

To read the whole article, go to the Roughing it: Fitting more fiber into your diet page.

Yzabel wrote this on July 30th, 2005 and filed it under Healthy Living, Healthy Eating, Health Foods |