Healthy Diet – The Importance Of Fibre
February 2, 2009
Fibre should be an important part of your diet if you insist upon a healthy diet. Fibre is associated with several health benefits even though it does not actually work by getting absorbed by our body.
The article discusses the importance of this essential component of our diet.
Significance of fibre
One of the most important reasons for including fibre in our diet is to aid proper digestion. Our body cannot digest dietary fibre.
The reason for this is that fibre is always obtained from plants. You will find that dairy products and meats are nil in fibre content. Fibre behaves like a cleaning sponge when it moves through our digestive system.
It cleans out the waste products, taking them along with it as it goes out of the body.
Sources of fibre
You can get fibre from plants. Therefore, grains, legumes, cereals, nuts, fruits, seeds, vegetables and lentils are all good fibre sources. This is the reason, you tend to get constipated when you go crazy on the meat and leave out the vegetables.
Types of fibre
There are two types of fibre called the insoluble and soluble forms. Although fibre is present in both forms in almost all plant sources, however most often every source consists more of either one of the forms compared to the other.
Both forms of fibre are essential for our body. The insoluble form helps to keep digestive tract clear and clean and also helps to prevent certain types of rectal and colon cancers.
Wheat bran, whole grain foods and some vegetables like carrots, broccoli and peas are all rich sources of insoluble fibre. Fruit skins also have abundant amounts of insoluble fibre.
The soluble form of fibre is helpful in lowering the blood cholesterol and also for controlling the rate of glucose entry into the bloodstream. You can find soluble fibre in lentils, barley, beans, oat bran, dried peas as well as several vegetables and fruits.
Ways to elevate fibre in diet
When you are increasing fibre in your diet, be careful to make a gradual increase.
Water is the best companion of fibre. So, drink lots of water to help fibre work its best.
Choose to eat skins along with vegetables and fruits.
Keep a variety in your diet so that along with loads of fibre, you get loads of other nutrients, minerals, vitamins also.


























