Fiber Benefits (and How Do You Know You Are Getting Enough)
Everybody poops. This is a universal truth, and a lot of this is due to fiber – the most underrated dietary hero. But the benefits of fiber aren’t limited to frequent toilet use. Here are some of the benefits of fiber and how to know if you’re getting enough.
So what is fiber? Technically fiber – is the type of carbohydrates, but unlike carbohydrates, which contain four calories per gram, fat calorie depends on is whether it is insoluble fiber and soluble fiber .
Insoluble fiber cannot be digested and contains no calories. On the other hand, nutritionists have not come to a consensus about the calorie content of soluble fiber and claim that it is anywhere from two to four calories . (I can only imagine that this debate is fierce.)
And it gets more complicated. Chemists, botanists and nutritionists dispute the actual definition of a nutrient (who would have guessed that fiber could be so controversial). But for our purposes, let’s go ahead and assume that we can track our fiber intake through the nutritional labeling (and data) of our food.
As Lyle mentions in the article below, some of the benefits of fiber include:
- Encouraging fullness and satiety.
- Improving blood sugar regulation.
- Reducing blood cholesterol.
- Poops regularly.
- Decreased absorption of other calories by the body (which can be beneficial in the context of weight loss).
As for how much fiber we need each day, according to Lyle:
The American Dietetic Association recommends an intake of 10-13 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed. This is about 20-30 grams per day for an average daily diet of 2000-3000 calories per day. It is worth noting that the average fiber intake in modern diets is around 10-11 grams per day, which is well below this figure.
One final caveat: too much of a good thing … not a good thing. Don’t try to increase your fiber intake too quickly (too much?), Unless you plan on spending a lot of time in the bathroom. You have been warned.
Fiber is nature’s broom | bodyrecomposition.com
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