Beans, beans, they’re good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you fart. This is just one version of the old poem or silly song about how beans may cause flatulence, but also possibly lower the risk of heart disease. Fiber may be behind both the good and the bad side of beans. There are multiple ways to classify fiber. Fiber includes complex carbohydrates and lignans located inside the cell walls of plants.
Technically, the body does not digest fiber, but some bacteria, the probiotics in the gut, can break it down, via fermentation, resulting in the production of the short-chain fatty acids: butyrate, acetate, and propionate; and also, gas, hence the flatus. Fiber does more than cause a rumbling in the tummy though. Fermentable fiber, called insoluble fiber previously, does not dissolve in water, but will hold onto it, creating bulk, softening stool, and thus preventing constipation, lowering the risk of hemorrhoids. The short-chain fatty acids that are formed through fermentation may also hinder the liver’s overproduction of cholesterol.
Viscous fiber, previously known as soluble fiber, forms a gel when dissolved in water. This gel is like a sponge, soaking up bile acids in the small intestine, limiting the cholesterol they hold from being reabsorbed, and instead helping it to pass through the intestine and be excreted as waste. The result may be a lowering of blood cholesterol, as the liver will need to pull cholesterol from the blood to replace the excreted bile acids. The gel-like fiber may also help to balance blood glucose and maintain a feeling of fullness after eating, both benefits for those with diabetes and/or looking to control their weight.
Fiber is no longer merely known as either soluble or insoluble due to the growing breadth of research and findings related to its other properties, such as chemical structure, fermentability, and physical attributes. With so many benefits of fiber becoming accepted, everyone must be consuming at least the daily minimum, right? Wrong. The adequate intakes of fiber differ for males and females, and across the lifespan. The average American is not only not eating the recommended amount, they are on average consuming a dismal 15 grams per day, not nearly enough to reap the benefits. The American Heart Association recommends at 25-30 grams of fiber for all adults, in general.
Fiber is found in a wide variety fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds. These items make up the majority of the MyPlate diagram, not to mention supply much more than just fiber. Foods that are good sources of fiber generally are also good sources of various vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.
A meta-analysis published in the Lancet (2019) described a “15-30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality, and incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal cancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumers” (Reynolds). The article goes on to include breast cancer among the possible cancers whose risk-of is decreased with higher fiber intakes. A diet including between 25 and 29 grams of fiber seemed to make all the difference (Reynolds). “A fiber-rich diet was linked, on average, to a 22% reduced risk of stroke, a 16% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer, and a 30% reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease” (Avramova). The research indicates that the greater the consumption of fiber, the greater the outcomes (Avramova). “Fiber-rich foods tend to be heavier and require longer to chew, which increases satiety and possible lowers the risk of obesity, which has been linked to heart disease and cancer” (Park). Fiber also feeds the good bacteria in the gut, improving digestion, and lessening the risk of colon cancer.
Increasing the amount of fiber in the diet is as easy as adding lentils to a lasagna, nuts and berries to a salad, replacing white pasta in a soup or stew with a whole grain, such as barley, bulgur, or buckwheat, including ground flaxseeds or chia in baked goods, or just eating fruits and vegetables as snacks rather than chips. Many processed foods do not contain a great deal of fiber. Eating whole, plant foods can make an immense difference. A lack of fiber is not a problem at only one critical point of the lifespan; consuming adequate fiber throughout the lifespan is imperative for overall quality of life, every step of the way. From the daily comfort achieved by regularity to decreased risk of overall mortality, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cancers, fiber is one of the most important nutrients for both males and females, of all ages!
In the befittwell bowl full of fiber: Steamed sweet potatoes with skin on, steamed broccoli, sautéed three grain tempeh plus lentils, steamed beets with skin on, steamed kale and rainbow Swiss chard, and brown rice.
Sources:
Avramova, Nina. “High-fiber diet linked to lower risk of death and chronic diseases.” CNN health, Jan 2019.
Brown, Judith. Nutrition Through the Life Cycle. Cengage, 2017.
Duyff, Roberta. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Complete Food & Nutrition Guide. Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2017.
Park, Alice. “Want to Prevent the Deadliest Diseases? Eat More Fiber.” Time magazine, Jan 2019.
Reynolds, Andrew. “Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses.” The Lancet, Volume 393, Issue 10170, Elsevier Ltd, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31809-9
With love, Kathleen
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