Everyone always hears that they need to include more fiber in their diet. It can have many benefits, such as regulating your digestive system to making your skin healthy, to helping prevent certain types of cancer.
There is no doubt that adding more fiber to your every day eats is important and helpful, but you always want to be knowledgeable about what you put in your body, and fiber is no different.
There are two types of fiber – soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Getting both types of fiber in your diet will help get you a balanced system, as they each have their own benefits.
There are many different sources of these types of fiber, and to include foods from both categories will provide you with all of the great benefits.
Understanding soluble fiber
When thinking of soluble fiber, you might picture the powdered fiber you mix into water and drink. That is because this type of fiber dissolves or swells when it is put into water.
Soluble fiber slows digestion, so that is takes longer for your body to absorb sugar. That is why high fiber foods help diabetics as they prevent quick spikes in your blood sugar levels. They also bind with fatty acids, detoxing them out of your body, and help to lower bad cholesterol.
Great sources of soluble fiber include beans, fruits, and oats. There are more specific types of soluble fiber as well:
- Inulin oligofructose is a type of soluble fiber that is extracted from onions and byproducts of sugar production from beets or chicory root. This type of fiber may increase the good bacteria in your gut and enhance your immune system.
- Mucilage, beta-glucans are found in oats, oat bran, beans, peas, barley, flaxseed, berries and more. This fiber helps lower bad cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
- Pectin and gums are a type of soluble fiber found in fruits, berries, and seeds and slows the passage of food through the intestines and helps lower cholesterol.
- Polydextrose polyols is generally added to processed foods as a bulking agent and a sugar substitute. It is made from dextrose, sorbitol, and citric acid. It will add bulk to stools and help prevent constipation, but may cause bloating or gas.
- Psyllium is a type of soluble fiber that is extracted from rushed seeds or husks of plantago ovata plants. It is an added ingredient to supplements, fiber drinks, and other foods. This ingredient helps lower cholesterol and prevents constipation.
- Resistant starch is a starch found in plant cell walls in unripened bananas, oatmeal, legumes, uncooked potatoes, cooked and cooled potatoes, and raw potato starch. It is sometimes added to processed foods to boost the fiber content. This type of fiber can help you manage your weight by increasing the feeling of fullness. It also helps control blood sugars, increasing insulin sensitivity and reduces the risk of diabetes.
- Wheat dextrin is a soluble fiber that is extracted from wheat starch, and is mostly used as an added ingredient to processed foods to increase fiber content. There are many benefits to wheat dextrin including helping lower bad cholesterol, reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Understanding insoluble fiber
This is the type of fiber that does not dissolve in water. Therefore, they help hydrate and move waste through your intestines. Insoluble fiber helps regulate your digestive system, and flush out more of those nasty toxins.
Great sources of insoluble fiber include all plants, especially vegetables, wheat, wheat bran, rye, and brown rice. Just as with soluble fiber, there are different types of insoluble fiber too:
- Cellulose is an insoluble fiber that is naturally found in nuts, whole wheat, whole grains, bran, seeds, brown rice, and skins of produce. This is considered ‘nature’s laxative’ as it reduces constipation and lowers the risk of diverticulitis. It can also help you manage your weight loss.
- Lignin is found in flax, rye, and some vegetables. This insoluble fiber is good for your heart health and possibly some immune function as well.
- Pectin, also mentioned above in the soluble section, can also be insoluble.
Do you need both soluble and insoluble types of fiber?
Generally, we get both types of fiber from our everyday choices of food and supplements. But many people do not get enough of the fiber they need. By including fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains into your everyday diet, you can get the fiber you need to prevent disease and regulate your system.
Functional fiber is fiber that is extracted from its natural source, and then added to supplements or processed foods. Check foods before you buy them to determine whether there is some added fiber to them for additional health benefits.
The best way to get fiber into your system though, is to eat natural and not processed foods. This is because natural foods have additional benefits as well as the fiber aspect.
If you do not get enough fiber in your diet however, then supplements can help bridge that gap. Generally, women fifty years old and younger should aim for twenty five grams per day, whereas men should aim for thirty eight grams per day. It is easier than you may think to reach these numbers by increasing the named foods above, and adding a supplement if necessary.
You should also try to get a variety of fiber in your diet. As you can see from the list above, there are many different types of fiber that have various benefits. They will all work together well in your system. You may want to focus more on some due to any issues you personally have.
Also, you need to consult your doctor before messing with the amount and type of fiber you increase in your diet, as some types of fiber are not great for those with certain conditions.
With all of the benefits that you will get from increasing the various types of fiber in your diet, there is no reason not to add all of the delicious foods to your menu every day.