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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You did not gain your excess weight overnight and you will not lower your weight overnight either. In truth we have a weight set point which is similar to a thermostat in as much as it tries to keep your weight constant.

If you over indulge in food at a party, your weight may go up a little but soon will return back to its typical weight. However, slowly over the years of eating the wrong foods (junk foods, high glycemic index foods, foods with too much saturated fats like fatty red meats) increases your weight set point and your weight goes up.

So it will take some time (but not as long as for your weight gain) to lower your set point to the desired value. Note – for those in a hurry – if you reduce your caloric intake too low (below 1500 to 1200 depending on your current weight and activity level) your body will shift into the starvation mode and slow down your metabolism and stop your weight loss. In fact later your slower metabolic rate will increase your weight – hence the yo-yo syndrome.

The phases of a good diet program:

* Phase one – rapid weight loss

In a good diet program using both food control and exercise, at first your weight may go down rapidly as you lose water weight and eat more fiber and thus cleans your colon.

* Phase two – some weight gain

Next as you exercise chances are your weight will go up a little as you are replacing fat with muscle. Don’t give up. Muscle weighs more than fat. I tell my weight reduction clients not to weigh themselves the first few weeks and look in the mirror and notice how they look so much better.

* diet program and plateau phase

Next in any good to be super fit and lean.

For me the last five pounds have been very challenging as I attempted to lower my weight so much that my body fat percentage would go down from very good to extremely good (from 13% to 12% or less). This was a challenge for me. Then the solution came because I was helping one of my weight loss clients.

* How I examined the low glycemic index diets

In order to guide my diet program clients I study the science behind many diet programs. I have known that low glycemic index diets are very sound from a scientific point of view. I used to eat}consume mostly a low GI diet, but did not adhere to it totally.

I had been studying various commercial programs for a client who did not have the time and inclination to follow my teachings and needed to get ready for a summer wedding and noticed that the one program which, if you follow it correctly, is successful was based on eating portion controlled low GI menu.

* How I overcame the last few pounds

Last week I started to follow a good carbs diet. And lo and behold, my weight has gone down two pounds in the last week (the perfect amount) and most importantly my body fat content has gone down to 12.4%.

I still have a little to go but I’m very happy with the progress and will continue with the low GI diet. In fact soon I’ll need to buy tighter belts as today I reached the last nutch, but as my belt size is now the same as 40 years ago, but that’s a good problem to have.

So you see diet program need not be difficult to impossible. You need to have reasonable expectations and goals, with room for plateauing, and eat plenty of good healthy foods with good proteins, fats and carbs. A mainly vegetarian diet with lean meat (mostly fish, or skinned chicken) with plenty of fruits and water will keep you satisfiedl while allowing you to lower your weight safely and become more healthy.

Click here to find a recommended diet program which does allow you to produce a sustained weight loss.

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Tags: Body Fat Percentage, Caloric Intake, Diet Program, Excess Weight, Food Control, High Glycemic Index, High Glycemic Index Foods, Junk Foods, Metabolic Rate, Phase One, Phase Two, Plateau Phase, Program Phase, Rapid Weight Loss, Saturated Fats, Starvation Mode, Typical Weight, Water Weight, Weight Reduction, Will Take Some Time