Fiber is a form of carbohydrate found in plants that humans
lack the enzyme to digest quickly; it helps us feel fuller on fewer calories.
The importance of fiber in our diet cannot be over
emphasized. Soluble fiber absorbs water and moves through the digestive tract
slowly, helping you feel fuller for longer period of time.
Fiber feeds the useful bacteria living in our guts, helps
keep things moving through the tract, can aid support cardiovascular health,
and can even help support healthy blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption
of sugar after a meal.
If you are looking for
a simpler way to slim down and improve your health, eating more fiber may help
you get there.
People who are obese consistently report eating less fiber
than people who are not. After controlling for other factors, fiber intake is
inversely associated with body mass index. Eating more fiber aids overweight
people lose weight and body fat. It has been shown to reduce breast-cancer risk
by reducing estrogen levels in the blood and to promote healthy aging.
So how does fiber work in our body?
Mainly, it is the part of plant foods — vegetables, fruits,
beans, nuts, legumes, and seeds — that your body can't digest. Fiber can be
classified as either soluble or insoluble, depending on their solubility in
liquids. Insoluble fibers act mostly as "bulking" agents and are not
very interesting. Soluble fiber can have powerful effects on health and
metabolism. Insoluble fiber, which helps food pass through your digestive
system, and soluble fiber, which helps eliminate fat and lower cholesterol.
With soluble fiber, sugars and fats enter your bloodstream at a slower rate,
giving you a steady supply of energy. "When you eat foods that do not have
fiber, your blood sugar can spike quickly. Then it crashes, causing hunger and
overeating," says Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, author of The F-Factor Diet.
The more fiber a food has, the better the food.
"Fiber-packed products use to be low-cal, so you can eat a lot,"
Zuckerbrot says. "Fiber makes you fuller, because it swells in your
stomach when it absorbs liquid."
Fiber is also a heart hero: It aids in lowering cholesterol
and blood pressure, and it increases blood flow. Also, the nutrient may reduce
levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation, which has been
linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Researchers from the
University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester found that people with
the highest fiber intake were 63 percent less likely to have elevated levels of
CRP than people who followed lower-fiber diets.
Viscous fiber may reduce your appetite, helping you eat less
without worries. It is a simple fact
that we need to be in calorie deficit to lose weight. More calories (energy)
need to be leaving the body than entering it.
Increasing your intake
of high-fiber foods may protect against weight gain and fat accumulation,
studies revealed.
One research of over one thousand adults found that for each
10-gram increase in soluble fiber intake per day, participants lost 3.7% of
their belly fat more than a five-year period, even without any other changes in
diet or exercise.
Moreover, review also found that increasing fiber intake
promoted feelings of fullness and decreased hunger. An increase of 14 grams of
fiber per day was associated with a 10% decrease in calorie intake. It is also
associated to almost 2 kg of weight loss over a four-month period.
Legumes, vegetables, whole grains, fruits ( Avocados, Pears, etc.), nuts and seeds are
a few examples of high-fiber foods that can boost fat burning and weight loss.
Abstract
Supplementary intake
of fiber may be related to fat loss; decreased calorie intake results to weight
loss.
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