F is for Fiber – The Facts for Fabulous Natural Health

Written by: Carole Schor on April 2, 2011.

F is for Fiber

There are certain things a body needs to be healthy, and in turn to have outstanding natural beauty.  An adequate amount of food and lots of water need to go in to your system and provide nourishment.  And then that food and water can’t just sit there, like you it has to do something.  Fiber is what makes the food and water that comes in – go out.

Fiber comes in two varieties – insoluble and soluble, depending upon its ability to dissolve (or not dissolve) in water.  Foods rich in soluble fiber, which dissolves in water (like oats, seed, fruits like apples strawberries, bananas and pears) can help decrease blood cholesterol, and therefore lower the risk of heart disease. Foods high in soluble fiber also slows down the absorption of sugar in the blood and can be a boon to diabetics or to preventing diabetes, a global epidemic at this time.

The other kind of fiber is insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water and is not digestible in your body.  Corn and wheat bran are insoluble fiber, a lot of fruits and vegetables – potatoes with their skins still on, parsnips and green beans and broccoli.  These pass through the system taking along other undigested food along, through your digestive system and out the other end!

Eating a fiber-rich diet is great not only to maintain your health, but to promote weight loss as well.  Soluble fiber-rich foods will stay around in your system for a while soaking up the other liquids and making you feel full, while insoluble fiber foods will help everything that goes in to come out!  Replace some nutritionally empty foods with fiber-ful foods and feel fabulous!