By Kristen Hicks-Roof PhD, RDN, LDN, CLC and Crystal Liebenberg BS
mail@floridanewsline.com
We’ve all heard that dietary fiber is good for us, but do you actually know why that is? To answer this question, let’s talk about what fiber is and how we can add more of it to our diet. Fiber is the part of a plant that cannot be completely digested in the human body. As fiber exits the stomach and enters the colon, our intestinal bacteria can feed off it, and then it is ultimately excreted. It might seem counterintuitive to say that we need to eat more of what we cannot digest or absorb, but there are many health benefits that come along with increasing your fiber intake.
Fiber helps maintain bowel health by regulating bowel movements so that they are not too hard or too loose, which decreases the risk of developing diverticulitis (inflammation of the colon) and colon cancer. Fiber also increases the weight and size of your stool making it easier to pass, decreasing the chance of constipation. Additionally, high-fiber diets may lower cholesterol levels and benefit the heart by reducing inflammation and hypertension. Finally, fiber tends to make us feel full quicker, stay satisfied longer, and helps control blood sugar levels as it can slow the absorption of glucose.
Here are a few simple ways you can increase your fiber intake:
- Choose whole grain options. Look for the whole grain symbol when choosing items such as bread, pasta, cereals, and other carbohydrate rich foods.
- Eat the skin of your fruits and vegetables instead of peeling it off. The skins contain not only ample amounts of fiber, but also extra vitamins and minerals.
- Sprinkle some seeds and/or nuts over snacks and meals like salads, smoothie bowls, oatmeal, yogurt, etc.
- Add berries to your meals such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.
- Eat more beans. Beans are a good source of fiber and they are also high in protein. Some bean-rich meals include hummus, chili, three bean salad, black beans burgers, bean stew, and bean soup.
Kristen K. Hicks-Roof Ph.D., RDN, LDN is an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Brooks College of Health, University of North Florida.
