Most people understand the importance of dietary fiber in their diet. Much has been said about its importance in heart health, diabetes, cancer prevention, and even weight control.
What is less well understood is how different types of fiber effect the body. Some provide fecal bulk, some are absorbed more quickly into the blood stream than others, and thus raise blood sugar levels more quickly, and yet others provide benefits to the heart.
Thus, despite the apparent simplicity, fiber is a complex topic. And whilst all types of fiber are important, if you are looking at preventing or managing specific conditions, its not enough to just look at the total dietary fiber as written on food packaging.
Dietary fiber is broadly classified into soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is fermented in the colon, and plays a role in slowing the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. It also encourages the growth of the ‘friendly’ bacteria that help break down bile, and are involved in the creation of B vitamins like folic acid, niacin, and pyridoxine.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, acts a bit like an intestinal broom. It provides bulk to the stools, and makes sure they pass through easily and quickly. This is the type of fiber that keeps you ‘regular’, not insoluble fiber.
Insoluble fiber does provide a feeling of fullness, however. This makes it great for weight loss and controlling hunger. It also keeps blood sugar levels more stable, although research into the rate at which carbohydrates enter the bloodstream have found there to be some significant differences within the foods that make up the fiber group. Dietary fiber can thus be rated by its Glycemic Index, which effectively ranks fiber foods with each other on a relative scale.
The idea is to try and include more low gylcemic index foods. Foods with a high glycemic index cause blood sugar levels to spike, providing too much energy to the blood in the form of carbohydrates, which in turn sets off the body’s sugar controlling hormone – insulin. You thus get a ‘high’ followed by a sudden drop. This in turn leads the body to want more carbohydrates to balance itself again, leading to cravings and overeating, as well as tiredness and moodiness.
Low glycemic index foods include lentils, chickpeas, baked beans, fruit loaf, salmon sushi, barley, milk, low fat custard, soy milk, yoghurt (not diet yoghurt), apples, strawberries, grapes, spaghetti, peas, carrots, fructose, strawberry jam, and chocolate milk.
Moderate glycemic index foods include pea soup, rye bread, porridge, muesli, ice cream, bananas, pineapple, kiwi fruit, new potatoes, beetroot, white sugar, honey, and mars bars.
High glycemic index foods include broad beans, bagels, white bread, brown rice, watermelon, udon noodles, desiree, pontiac and sebago potatoes, and glucose.
We need both soluble and insoluble fiber, however. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that in a group of 6000 French men and women, those with the highest levels of soluble and insoluble fiber in their diet had a lower risk of being overweight, a lower risk of having blood pressure problems, cholesterol problems, and they had better levels of triacylglycerols and homocysteine. The last two are measure3 of heart health.
Fiber from cereals was linked to lower body fat, lower blood pressure, and lower levels of homocysteine. Those with a higher intake of vegetables, also a source of fiber, had lower blood pressure and lower homocysteine levels. Fiber from fresh fruit was associated with a lower waist to hip ratio (good news for dieters!), and lower blood pressure. And fiber from dried fruit, nuts, and seeds (like sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds) was also linked to a lower waist to hip ratio, lower body fat, and a better fasting glucose concentration. Fasting glucose relates to having a steady level of glucose between meals. If it dips too low, we crave things, often sweets.
Fiber has another interesting benefit. In people with type 2 diabetes, it has been found to lower the levels of ‘bad’ cholesterol, and increase the levels of ‘good’ cholesterol. It has already been established that fiber supplements will lower the levels of bad cholesterol in people, whether they have diabetes or not. But this new study found that fiber supplements also decreased the reabsorption of cholesterol from meals.
To get this benefit, it is important to time taking the fiber supplement in synch with meals. The study participants took a fiber supplement drink before mealtimes, and this ensured that the fiber was in the intestines when the meal was being eaten. The people in the study participated for 90 days and their average age was 59 years old.
References:
1. Australian Healthy Food, November 2005
2. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64759
3. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=57887
4. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=64462
5. nutraingredients.com/news/ng.asp?id=59737
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Tags: Apparent Simplicity, B Vitamins, Blood Stream, Blood Sugar Levels, Bloodstream, body, Broom, Cancer Prevention, Diabetes Prevention, Dietary Fiber, Fiber Foods, Fiber Group, Food Packaging, General Health, health, Health Diabetes, Heart Health, High Glycemic Index, Niacin, nutrition, Relative Scale, Soluble Fiber, Stools, Supplements, vitamin
Instead of Butter: Use top quality, cold pressed, extra virgin olive oil, from the first pressing, or flaxseed oil. The taste of virgin olive oil is appealing to millions of people around the world, so why not adopt it to your taste?
Flaxseed oil is prized for health reasons and not for its taste. You can always compensate for that by adding spices to the appropriate dish. Let’s say you want to add a little flaxseed oil to mashed potatoes, instead of butter. You could add basil, oregano, rosemary, curry, garlic, or any other spice that agrees with your palate.
You can use a little virgin olive oil on mashed potatoes with basil and roasted garlic, but it’s up to the individual’s own taste. At home, we use a little olive oil on toast, instead of butter. Again, you could spice it, but try to avoid salting.
Depending on whose study you read, flaxseed oil contains Omega-3, Omega-6, and Omega-9 Oils.
Olive oil has some Omega-6 value, but it tastes great.
If you want to learn a lot more about beneficial oils, visit:
http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~ebender/Health%20&%
20Nutrition/Nutrition/oil_good.html
To name a few of the many conditions improved by Omega-3 Oils: High Cholesterol Levels, Prevention of Strokes and Heart Attacks, Cancer Prevention and Treatment, Multiple Sclerosis, Allergies, Angina, High Blood Pressure, Arthritis, and Asthma.
To read a little more about the link between cancer prevention and Omega-3 fatty acids, please visit:
http://www.seapet.com/EFA_cancer.htm#AICR
It goes without saying any further, that omega-3 fatty acids should be boosted in most of our diets.
You will notice, I did not mention, margarine as a dietary recommendation.
Trans-fats are formed as a result of chemical hydrogenation. Depending upon the brand you buy, margarine may contain up to 45 percent trans-fats.
“The problem with trans fatty acids is that your body doesn’t know what to do with them,” said Brian Olshansky, M.D., University of Iowa Health Care professor of internal medicine.
Trans fatty acids (trans-fats) are linked to diabetes, high cholesterol, sudden cardiac death, obesity, and heart disease.
Expect to see a warning on the labels of food containing trans-fats in the near future. New labeling for foods is expected soon, and total trans-fats contained within a product serving, will be listed. Believe it or not, at least one trans-fat, CLA (conjugated linolenic acid), is considered beneficial, but that is another story.
Suffice to say, it would be wise to avoid margarine until all the research is in. At that point, the composition of margarine will probably change for the better.
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Tags: 3 Fatty Acids, Body Doesn, Cancer Prevention, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, finess, Flaxseed Oil, healt, healt and finess, Health Reasons, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol Levels, Internal Medicin, Iowa Health Care, Olshansky, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Omega 3 Oils, Omega 6, Omega 9, Roasted Garlic, Trans Fats, Trans Fatty Acids, University Of Iowa Health Care, Virgin Olive Oil
Looking back in the census records, you may have noticed that many people died by age 50 and infant mortality rates were high. You may have also heard that today’s average life expectancy is 75 for men and 80 for women. Healthy eating, exercise and the benefits of abstaining from smoking are widely proclaimed, now more than ever.
While researchers are still a little in-the-dark about cancer prevention, they have found that increasing fiber and vegetables, as well as meeting with physicians for early detection tests can have many patients walking away from what would have been fatal diseases. Yet does that mean that Americans are committed to healthy living?
healthy living
As the saying goes, “garbage in, garbage out.” Eating the right foods is the most important step toward healthy diet. Yet this simple matter of choice can also be one of the most difficult lifestyle modifications as well.
Fats, salts and sugars are just so tasty and so convenient, they can be hard to resist! However, just about every healthy eating plan runs off the same principles. Eat more fruits, more vegetables, more fiber and more lean protein. Eat less saturated fat, less sodium, fewer carbohydrates and fewer calories.
When you dine out, try to avoid fried foods and ask for soup or salad instead. You may want to ask for a box so you can set half of your portion aside for later. You don’t have to give up your favorite foods, but you do have to eat them in moderation. There are a number of websites that offer healthy recipes and diet nutrition calculators to help you get started eating your way to disease prevention.
The key to developing a healthy living fitness plan is finding something you like that you can stick to. It’s a rare person who truly loves getting up at five in-the-morning and running five miles to start the day. Most of us are consumed with working and errand running, so we make excuses and forget to set aside time for ourselves.
weight gain
For some people, joining an aerobics class, cycling, karate, yoga or calisthenics/weights, can motivate them to go every week, stay for the allotted time and push themselves to work out harder.
For other people, a new hobby like rollerblading, swimming at the Y, walking the dog with a friend, golfing, learning tennis or playing on a softball team can be a great way to stay active. By creating a diverse array of physical activities that you can stick to, you will decrease your risk of injury, sickness and disease to live a healthier life.
Stress management is an essential component of healthy living, as research shows stress can take years off our lives and can lead to obesity, depression, hypertension, high blood pressure and heart attacks.
Stress is part of your normal physiological reaction to threat, which triggers a sudden release of hormones in what is called the “fight or flight response.” To keep anxiety at bay, try making lists and prioritizing your tasks, while outsourcing tasks to others to make your load lighter.
healthy diet
Strive for a balance of work, family and personal time. Know when it’s time to take a break because your stress levels are jeopardizing your health. Be sure you are practicing healthy eating, exercising and getting at least seven hours of sleep each night. Devise strategies to help you cope with stress, such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation techniques, yoga, tai-chi, meditation, massage, music, reading or hypnosis.
Lastly, if you feel your efforts aren’t working, then you should consider counseling, which will help you identify where you’ve gone wrong and how you can begin living a more satisfying life.
Tags: Average Life Expectancy, Cancer Prevention, Census Records, Detection Tests, Diet Nutrition, Disease Prevention, Fatal Diseases, Favorite Foods, Fitness Plan, Fried Foods, Healthy Diet, Healthy Eating Plan, Healthy Recipes, Infant Mortality Rates, Lean Protein, Lifestyle Modifications, Matter Of Choice, Nutrition Calculators, Rare Person, Simple Matter
