Do you know why it is good to eat fiber? Discover why it is beneficial for your health to eat foods rich in fiber every day, and what properties they provide you in your day to day.
Within a healthy, varied and balanced diet, there is no doubt that fiber becomes a truly essential nutritional component, since opting for foods rich in fiber and ultimately following a diet rich in fiber helps to prevent a great diversity of disorders and diseases.
In fact, if we take a look at some of the main benefits of fiber, we realize that it is an essential component when it comes to preventing and reducing constipation, a virtue that in turn translates into preventing diverticulosis and hemorrhoids. It also helps prevent the risk of colon cancer, and since it has a satiating effect, it is interesting when it comes to reducing appetite and losing weight or controlling weight.
Despite this, few people still consume the recommended amount of fiber per day, or even simply do not eat any fiber throughout the day. In general, these people tend to suffer from constipation and also have a greater risk of suffering from some of the pathologies and diseases that we mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Benefits of eating fiber every day:
- Prevents constipation: Considered one of the most common gastrointestinal problems, it is diagnosed when the person has fewer than three bowel movements per week, or when they are hard, dry and small, difficult to evacuate and painful. Fiber helps keep stools soft, so they are more easily moved through the colon.
- Reduces the risk of hemorrhoids: Hemorrhoids or piles are varicose veins that arise in the anal area due to excess pressure in the pelvic and rectal area, causing inflammation and stretching. Piles are directly related to constipation, due to the difficulty in passing hard, dry stools.
- Reduces the risk of colon cancer: Different scientific investigations have confirmed the effect of eating foods rich in fiber with the presence of colon cancer. These results have shown that the more fiber is consumed, the lower the risk of developing polyps (which are bumps in the lining of the colon and that mostly have a benign onset, which progresses to cancer).
- Reduces and regulates blood cholesterol levels: Regular fiber consumption helps prevent or reduce high blood cholesterol levels. While soluble fiber helps to trap cholesterol that comes from the diet and helps its elimination from the body, insoluble fiber helps in the elimination of waste, stopping the absorption of cholesterol.
- Control blood sugar levels: Regular consumption of foods rich in fiber helps prevent sudden increases in blood glucose. Soluble fiber stands out especially, since by delaying the digestion and absorption of glucose it helps to reduce the production of insulin, having a beneficial effect on the control of glucose levels in the blood.
What is the recommended amount per day?
Many nutritionists agree that a recommended amount of fiber to consume each day is between 25 to 30 grams per day of fiber.
If we exceed this daily amount, it is likely that annoying symptoms appear, such as gas or flatulence, abdominal bloating and an upset stomach.
Choose the best high-fiber foods.
The following food groups stand out especially:
- Whole grains: They are natural products, rich in fiber that provide a feeling of satiety. In addition, they help prevent the absorption of toxic substances, preventing them from accumulating in our body.
- Legumes: Like whole grains, legumes are rich in fiber. In addition, they provide good quality vegetable proteins, as well as vitamins and minerals.
You can also pay attention to the following food table where we indicate which are the foods richest in fiber, and their fiber content:
| Fiber content per 100 grams of food: | |||
| Food | Total Fiber | ||
| Artichoke | 4 | ||
| Almond | 10 | ||
| Dried pea | 17 | ||
| Fresh pea | 4 | ||
| Blueberry | 5 | ||
| Cooked beans | 9 | ||
| Celery | 4 | ||
| Hazelnut | 7 | ||
| Oats, flakes | 6 | ||
| Sweet potato | 8 | ||
| Barley | 10 | ||
| Rye | 13 | ||
| Plum, dried apricot | 9 | ||
| Damascus, Oregon | 8 | ||
| peach | 2 | ||
| Endive | 2 | ||
| Spinach | 2 | ||
| Raspberry | 5 | ||
| Strawberry | 2 | ||
| Cooked chickpeas | 5 | ||
| Wheat germ | 25 | ||
| Soya flour | eleven | ||
| Fig, dried apricot | 10 | ||
| Kiwi | 4 | ||
| Lentils | eleven | ||
| Mango | 3 | ||
| Apple | 2 | ||
| Orange | 2 | ||
| Walnut | 5 | ||
| Cucumber | 1 | ||
| Pear | 3 | ||
| Cooked butter beans | 7 | ||
| Leek | 2 | ||
| Beetroot | 3 | ||
| Cooked cabbage | 2 | ||
| Wheat bran | 43 | ||
| Sunflower seeds | 6 | ||
| Ground flaxseed | 39 | ||
| Sesame seeds | eleven | ||
| Soy, beans | fifteen | ||
| Tomato | 2 | ||
| Grape | 2 | ||
| Carrot | 4 | ||
Beware of overindulging in fiber.
It is very important to increase your fiber intake gradually, little by little, especially if you are not used to eating foods rich in fiber.
The reason is clear: if you increase it suddenly, in large amounts and in a short time, digestive discomfort can occur, such as abdominal cramps, bloating and intestinal gas.
If you have already suffered any of these symptoms, do not worry, since as soon as the natural bacteria present in our digestive system get used to the increase in fiber in the diet, the discomfort will disappear.
