Why Do You Need Fibers In Your Diet Plan?

Fibers are very beneficial for your body, but it’s very unfortunate that not many people are aware of that.

Here are a some little known facts about the fibers:

First of all fiber is an indigestible part of all plant foods. Fibers are contained in fruits, vegetables, grains and beans. Our digestive system can not stomach fibers and they excreted undigested. But that doesn’t mean we don’t need them, exactly the opposite...

I will illustrate why we need fibers in the following example:

The Problem

If you overeat at least couple of times a week, mostly at weekends in front of the TV, and your regular menu doesn't include much fruits and vegetables then your lifestyle is quite disturbing as you may easily put on extra weight that can cause you a lot of other health problems:

- indigestion
- discomfort stomach aches
- gases in the digestive tract
- constipation
- hemorrhoids
- you get tired faster
- lack of concentration in your work

These can cause you some real troubles in a way you can barely control. I mean you become more irritable and less productive. Your home and office obligations will suffer severely if you don’t stop for a moment and think about how your unhealthy way of living is affecting your personal and professional life. If you wait too long you will realize you have a problem when you gain extra weight and your favorite shirt and pants won’t fit you anymore.

The Solution

If you want t solve a problem, you should first find what causes it. In my above example the cause for this problem is the lowered intake of fiber-rich foods, respectively - the higher intake of foods that contain no fiber (like meat). On average we should have a fiber intake of about 25-30 grams daily. Unfortunately, most of us eat no more that 10-15 grams daily, or even less. That means we take less than 50% of the fibers we need.

In order to fix this decreased fiber intake we need to eat much more fiber-rich foods like:

- all bran cereal
- beans
- peas
- spinach
- sweet corn
- wholemeal brown bread
- red cabbage
- carrots
- baked potato with skin
- apples, bananas, oranges and all
kinds of fruits

More about Fibers:

Fibers are soluble and insoluble. It you eat more of the foods rich in fiber you’ll be truly amazed by the great effect they have over your body, health and lifestyle.
Soluble fiber forms glue like gel in the intestinal tract. This gel softens stools and you get rid of constipation, as well as improves your digestion and you get rid of stomach aches.

Fiber slows down stomach emptying and you feel fuller longer. This effect helps you eat less, your body burns additional calories to digest fiber and you can lose weight.
Insoluble fiber is an excellent natural laxative, because of its abilities to hold onto water and to push waste faster along the intestines - this way fiber decreases the risk of colon cancer.

Conclusion

In conclusion I'd like to tell you that you won't be sorry if you start eating more fiber-rich foods. Like many other people I used to take not enough fiber, and I suffered stomach aches. Then I started to eat more fruits and fiber-rich foods in my daily menu. I must admit that it really worked for me, and now fiber-rich food is the most important nutritious part of my regular diet.