Benefits of Fiber Foods in the Diet

Health and Natural Living. Fiber aids in preventing constipation and improves digestive system. Fiber foods have a number of health benefits and consuming them in plenty can help you in several ways. Fiber foods play an important role in natural colon cleansing. They can also help to lose weight. Dietary fibers can prevent or treat intestinal diseases and cancers. They help in flushing out the toxic matter from the colon Foods rich in fiber can lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels and they thus decrease the risk of heart attacks. They also help in treatment of diabetes.

Your body need vegetable or plant fiber. There are two main types of fibers: soluble and non-soluble. Fibers are easy to get, as many foods contain abundance of fiber. It is of various varieties and is found more in unrefined and raw foods. Overcooking destroys fibers. Dietary fibers are that part of the plant that your body can’t digest. Both play different but important roles in promoting health

Soluble fibers include pectin, gums, and mucilage. These form gel-like substances in the intestine and are useful in preventing and treating heart diseases and in controlling diabetes and hypoglycemia. Good sources of non-soluble fibers are wheat, corn, bran, whole wheat breads, beans, nuts, seeds, popcorn, fruits and vegetables Good sources of soluble fiber include oats, barley, grams, lentils, carrots, green peas, cauliflower, pears; non-soluble fibers include hemi-cellulose, cellulose lignin, add bulk to the stool and speed elimination. They help to prevent and/or treat intestinal disorders such as constipation and irritable bowel syndrome and possibly cancers of the colon, prostate, breast, ovaries.