We have news for you: Your Digestive System Craves Fiber! Just as we promised in our previous blog, this week, the Digest Disease Consultants bring more helpful eating hints. These hints include what to eat for the “care and feeding” of your digestive system.
Before we investigate some facts about Fiber, enjoy A Mini Case-Story Study: Carol went to her gastroenterologist for constipation. It was no surprise to her when he recommended a fiber rich diet. Then her husband, Jake went to the gastroenterologist, but his problem was diarrhea.
Much to her shock, the gastroenterologist recommended a fiber-rich diet for him also. This mystified Carol. How could fiber help two such opposite conditions?
Frank Talk and Food for Thought for Your Digestive Tract
Joanne L. Slavin, PhD, RD, professor of nutrition at the University of Minnesota, explains, “Part of the answer is that fiber helps normalize transit time,
or the rate at which food moves through the digestive tract.”
Fiber helps your digestive tract run smoothly.
To better resolve Carol’s confusion, let’s look at some more benefits from phenomenal, versatile fiber:
1. Loose bowel movements happen when the food speeds through the intestines. When this happens, the intestines have no chance to absorb a proper amount of water. A slurry of food races out of the stomach and small intestine and rushes through a very unhappy large intestine.
2. Strange as it might seem, food waste that slowly absorbs the proper about of water is key to solidifying the stool.
3. The proper amount of fiber slows yet regulates a slow journey through the large intestine. Thus, the stool properly absorbs more water and solidifies appropriately.
Fiber: The Terrific Take-Aways
4. In summary, fiber is like a double-edged sword against constipation and diarrhea. The ability to absorb water helps make stools more solid. By slowing transit time through the digestive tract, fiber gives the large intestines a chance to absorb additional water.
5. Fiber also helps bulk up the contents of the large intestines, packaging indigestible food together nicely. Dr. Slavin notes the obvious benefit, stating “Having something left at the end of digestion and absorption turns out to be necessary to form a normal stool.”
Fiber: The Truth behind The Two Main Types
There are actually many types of fiber in foods. However you might have heard that there are two major types, and that is true.
A Happy Fiber Story: Children with summer berries show love for fiber.
Type One: Soluble
Soluble fiber dissolves nicely into a smooth gel and it assists your digestion in slowing down.
Here’s a mini-grocery list from the Digestive Disease Consultants’ Soluble Fiber Foods: Blueberries, beans, and nuts.
These tasty fiber-rich foods will “help you to feel full longer and is one reasons why fiber may help with weight control.”
Type Two: Insoluble
Insoluble fiber simply does not dissolve in the process of digestion. It adds that aforementioned healthy, but indigestible bulk to your stool. Insoluble fiber is where the cellulose inherent in a crispy dinner salad shines!
Shopping Simply for Insoluble Fiber Foods: Here’s a short grocery list from the Digestive Disease Consultants
Insoluble fiber is found within the fluffy leaves of rich dark green leafy vegetables. It’s also in such foods as celery, green beans, and carrots.
These are the foods that give other food a push. They bulk up and inspire other types of food to “move through your digestive tract more quickly for healthy elimination.”
Fiber Rich Food: Our Extended Grocery List
This list is simple, and very general. It’s actually just an instruction: You will discover whole fresh vegetables and fruits contain both soluble and insoluble Fiber. Again, consult your doctor or nutritionist before changing your diet.
Enjoy fiber-rich tasty fruits and vegetables to keep your digestive system happy.
Did you know average Americans consume only half the fiber their digestive tract craves?
Blog articles like this one are dedicated to changing such statistics. Carol and Jake in our mini-case study above, exchanged their week-end fast food habits for a farmer’s market habit. Through their new-found knowledge, they discovered many fiber-rich foods they had never before tried. Salads became a regular part of their meals, and they did not have to give up flavor.
(They also cut down on sandwiches, pies, cakes and cookies, but that’s another story, and it might be a future blog.)
Caution: A Special Note
If you suspect your digestive system is sensitive or allergic to certain foods, please avoid them. Again, the information in our blog is not meant to diagnose you, only to give you some thought-provoking facts. You can also use our blogs to brainstorm some talking points with your doctor.
Likewise, if your doctor has diagnosed you with a digestive problem requiring a special diet, please talk to him or your nutritionist before making any changes in the foods you are eating.
If you are healthy, the information about fiber below will help lead to happy digestive system. However, if you have not experienced these foods, add them to your diet gently, a little at a time. Do so, after talking to your doctor or nutritionist. Although this article has its own title, it is really Part Two of our coverage of Nutrition and Healthy Food Choices for Your Digestive System. We invite you to read or review that previous article for our first four tips about what to eat for your healthy digestive tract.