Eating Healthy Includes Eating A High Fiber Diet!

Fiber is more than just a glass of some gritty powder you mix with a tall glass of water and drink daily. Fiber is a very powerful and necessary ingredient in everyone's daily diet. Fiber offers many benefits and most Americans are not paying attention to its importance.
Fiber fights diseases. Including the daily recommended amount of fiber in your diet daily can help fight disease. You can prevent colon cancer and heart disease. High fiber in your diet will help your body eliminate cholesterol by attaching itself to these molecules in the digestive system and preventing it from entering the bloodstream. Fiber is probably one of the easiest ways to prevent colon cancer and keep your intestinal system in check.
Foods high in fiber will always require you to chew longer and your body will take more time to digest them. This results in your body fighting the "hunger pains" and keeps your appetite satisfied longer. Keeping your appetite suppressed naturally can also help someone if they are trying to lose weight or fight off weight gain and/or obesity.
Most junk foods and foods that we bombard ourselves with on a daily basis usually don't contain adequate amounts of fiber. If you are eating out at restaurants or using prepackaged foods for daily meals, fiber isn't a big component in their ingredients. Finding foods rich in fiber is a must to maintaining a healthy diet.
The best way to incorporate high fiber food into your diet is to start by eating more grains. Dietary fiber is actually plant matter that our bodies cannot digest and thus helping our digestive system stay "clean and maintained." Whole grains such as cracked wheat, rolled oats, bulgur and quinoa are all great choices for high fiber foods.
Adults need more fiber in their diets than children but children that are older than two years of age should consume the recommended daily amount of fiber specified for their age group. Adult males should consume 28-30 grams of dietary fiber daily and the average American male consumes about 8 grams. Adult females should consume 23-25 grams of dietary fiber daily and the average American female consumes less than 10 grams a day. Appalling numbers for a society that has such a bountiful list of resources at their disposal to choose from.
When you start increasing the amount of fiber you include in your diet daily, you have to supplement that with an increase in water consumption too. More fiber equals more water. A basic rule that will help keep your fiber moving through your digestive system. More than eight, eight ounce glasses of water daily is a must.
When you overcook certain foods like vegetables and fruits for a prolonged period of time, you basically cook the "vitamins" and nutrients out of them. Steaming has always been the best way to prepare vegetables because it helps retain the nutrients that these foods possess. Fiber is different. You cannot cook fiber out of your food. The fiber which is a natural plant matter is part of the skin and flesh of the vegetables and fruits - overcooking might remove other nutrients but not fiber.
Just as overindulging and overeating other foods, fiber can be abused as well. You want to consume fiber in moderation. If a person consumes over 50 grams of fiber daily, the digestive system cannot handle the amount of fiber traveling through and you will end up with bloating and diarrhea. When diarrhea occurs, your body is pretty much shutting down the digestive system and blocking the fiber from entering your body but with it other vital nutrients and key minerals the body needs to stay healthy.
Reaching a goal of 25-30 grams of fiber in your diet daily is not something you should over think. Eating the right foods such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits and eating the correct quantities of these foods will automatically get your fiber intake to the level it needs to be. Eating the right foods always go hand in hand.
Don't shrug off the importance of fiber. You might think that ensuring the right amount of fiber is something for persons older than 65 but that is the farthest thing from the truth. Eating foods high in fiber can help with reducing stress, preventing heart disease and cancer and it will help maintain a healthy digestive tract which in turn helps you maintain a healthy body.

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