Fiber for Healthy Heart

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Do you know what we lack most in our diets? The answer isn't vitamins or minerals. It's fiber. Here are four ways to tell if you may be lacking in fiber:

• Do you have fewer than three bowel movement a week?

• Are you experiencing weight gain?

• Do you usually feel nauseated, tired or week?

• Is your diet mostly high in protein and low in carbohydrates

If you say yes to all of the above, then you're probably not getting enough fiber. But if you are not bothered by this fact, once you understand what fiber is, why it is important and how it can protect you from heart disease.

What is Fiber?

Fiber is the part of the plant that isn't digested and absorbed. When consumed, it stays in the gut and is eventually eliminated through the bowels. We get dietary fiber from plant foods such cereals like oats, legumes (for example, lentils, beans and peas), fruits and vegetables.

There are two types of fiber: insoluble fiber, which helps stools move through the gut more effectively, and soluble fiber also known as beta-glucan, which plays a major role in lowering blood cholesterol levels and maintaining healthy blood sugar levels.

Five Good Reasons

Fiber is usually associated with the prevention of constipation, but in reality, it does so much than that. Hence, we have five good reason why you should take more fiber:

1. Down the cholesterol, lower the heart disease risks. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States as of year 2007. A proven way of lowering cholesterol and reducing risk of heart disease is by consuming fiber, particularly soluble fiber that can be found in oats.

2. Keep body in shape and check your weight. Being overweight or obese puts you at risk of high blood pressure, high blood glucose and high blood cholesterol, which lead to heart disease, diabetes and hypertension respectively. As such it is crucial to keep your weight down. Because fiber-rich food are complex carbohydrates, they take longer to digest and keep you feeling full for a longer period time.

3. A healthy digestive system. Dietary fiber, particularly insoluble fiber, increase the weight of your stool and decrease the time it takes for the stool to pass through your intestines. This helps keep you regular and promotes a healthy digestive system.

4. Maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Diabetes is a condition of too much of glucose in the blood and it can increase your risk of heart disease by two to four times! The good news is that soluble fiber helps to slow down digestion and absorption so that it takes more time for the glucose in your blood to enter the bloodstream.

5. Additional side benefits of vitamin and minerals. An added bonus to a fiber-rich diet is that you'll also getting plenty of vitamins and minerals. For instances, aside from fiber, whole grain foods such as oats also provide a number of essential vitamins and minerals including iron, magnesium and zinc.

How to Take More Fiber

The best way to incorporate fiber into your daily diet is by eating foods that are naturally rich in fiber. The recommended amount of dietary fiber is some 25g-30g daily, and you can get this by:

• Incorporating heart-healthy oats into your daily diet.

• Choosing wholegrain cereals, breads and pastas over refined ones.

• Choosing brown rice instead of white rice.

• Eating more lightly-cooked vegetables such as broccoli, carrots and cauliflower.

• Taking fruits with their skins for extra fiber and nutrients.

• Eating legumes, such as dried beans, peas and lentils several times a wee.

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