What Is Fibre?
So, what is fibre? Well it is sometimes referred to as roughage, and by including more fibre into your diet, will not only help you feel fuller for longer, it can also help reduce the risk of certain cancers.
There are two types of fibre, insoluble fibre and soluble fibre.
Both types of fibre are good for you, and depending on what your problem may be, you can increase the amount of insoluble of soluble fibre, to suit your needs.
If you are interested in increasing your intake of fibre, do so gradually and include plenty of water as well.
A high fibre diet is very important for older people, as your digestive system slows down with age, how many times have you heard that one!
A good diet, expecially for elderly people, will help fight illness and disease, visit boomers with elderly parents for more information.
Maintaining the proper amount of fibre into your diet, will not only give you a healthy body but help keep you looking younger.
Foods lacking in fibre
- fast foods (obviously)
- white bread
- refined cereals
- meat and dairy produce
Fibre will also help reduce your chances of having heart disease, by lowering your cholesterol levels, it slows the release of sugars from foods into the blood, which is good for diabetes.
Don’t forget by including plenty of fibre into your diet, you are not only eating the foods your body needs, you get all the vitamins and minerals you need as well from fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Insoluble Fibre
This will help your body promote intestinal health; bowel regularity, (good for people who suffer from constipation).
Waste material passes through the body very quickly, so it does not stay in the intestines or bowel for long, therefore toxins are not able to build up.
Insoluble fibre will help you, if you suffer from such things as irritable bowel syndrome, bowel cancers, others cancers and hemorrhoids.
Basically, insoluble fibre helps your bowels pass food.
You will find all you need, if your diet consists of wholegrain breads and wholemeal breads and cereals, dried beans, peas, seeds and nuts and the skins of fruit, lentils, vegetables and brown rice.
Soluble Fibre
This type of fibre can be good if you are watching your weight. It will slow down the emptying of the stomach, creating a feeling of fullness, which will help you have more time in between meals.
This is done by slowing down digestion and the release of energy, from carbohydrates into the bloodstream. Great news for those of you who suffer from diabetes.
Soluble fibre will also help prevent feelings of tiredness or pangs of hunger, which can lead to snacking and usually on the wrong types of food.
Your blood sugar levels will be more stable, if you include more soluble fibre into your diet.
If you are interested in including more soluble fibre into your diet, try increasing how much you eat of; fruit, (especially apples, pears, strawberries), green vegetables, oats, barley, flaxseed, dried beans, lentils, peas, dried fruit.
_____________________________________________________
Stress Management - Here is some great information on stress and how to manage it.