As a result, they're deficient in nutrients including fiber. The industrialists also capture this phenomenon as an opportunity that bears a variety of dietary supplement the primary content is fiber.
Actually, there's nothing wrong in fiber supplements. What wrong is when the supplements are considered completely able to replace the fiber from the daily diet. Why?
The food generally consists of nutrients and other substances. Fiber is included in the non-nutrient components. High in fiber in the daily diet provides many benefits, especially in reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and colon malignancies.
Dietary fiber is an element of plant cell walls in the food that can't be digested by the enzymes in the digestive tract. Based on its chemical properties, dietary fiber is divided into soluble and insoluble. Included in the group of insoluble fibers are lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose.
Carrots, wheat, and fruits the seeds are edible such as strawberries are sources of lignin. Relatively high cellulose foodstuffs are including wheat flour, peas, root vegetables, apples, and fruits containing seeds. Meanwhile, high hemicellulose foods include bran, cereals, and oatmeal.
In the colon, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin absorb water so that the volume of stool becomes larger. They also shorten the time between the entry of food and the issuance of feces. As a result, the contact between the irritating substances with large intestine becomes short to prevent the occurrence of disease in the colon and rectum.
What's included in a group of soluble fiber? The answer is pectin, psyllium, gum, mucilage, and glucan.
A diet high in soluble fiber can lower blood cholesterol. In addition, soluble fiber may also improve carbohydrate metabolism. The addition of soluble fiber in the diabetes mellitus patients' diet can lower blood sugar.
Food sources of soluble fiber include apples, oranges, bran, oats, seaweed, beans and legumes, soybean kinds, red and green beans, and snow peas.
The recommended dietary fiber intake is 20 to 30 grams per day for adults. Approximately, six grams are derived from soluble fiber.
When you familiarize yourself with the diverse diet, fiber needs will be met. Rice or its exchanges, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables are sources of fiber.
There are advantages if you eat natural food sources of fiber. Fruits and vegetables, for example, in addition to sources of fiber, are also sources of beta-carotene and vitamin C, an antioxidant. Antioxidants themselves lower the risk of various degenerative diseases.
Tempeh, for example, aside from being a source of soluble and insoluble fiber, is also a source of monounsaturated fatty acids that can lower blood cholesterol. In addition, tempeh also contains isoflavones which, of late, associated with its function to lower the risk of osteoporosis.
So, you should still persist in a healthy and balanced diet rich in fiber from fruits, vegetables, and other sources. With the diet, many diseases can be prevented. Fiber supplement is needed only when we lack of everyday foods.
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Vegan Eats World
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