Fiber Does More Than Just Lower Cholesterol

If you have paid attention to the media recently, the
experts are touting that getting more fiber in your diet
will help lower cholesterol. This is good news with all
the alleged problems and lawsuits against statins that
lower cholesterol. Is it true though? What else can fiber
do besides lower cholesterol to make it necessary for our
diet? It is looking like if you get enough fiber in your
diet, your chances reduce dramatically of acquiring many
diseases you could be susceptible to as you get older.

What exactly does fiber help to prevent? New research has
shown that a diet with enough fiber in it can reduce the
chances of diverticulosis, diabetes (by slowing the release
of sugars from the blood), heart disease (by, yes, lowering
cholesterol), and other diseases. Currently, there are
conflicting reports whether fiber helps prevent cancer, but
if you do eat foods that have generous amounts of fiber in
them (such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) you
also get plenty of minerals and vitamins that are very
important to the body. Bonus, baby!!!

In a nut shell, this is what fiber does. It goes through
the intestines and picks up all the wastes and toxins along
the way. It continues to trek through the intestines,
passing through quickly. Because fiber is going through so
fast, it doesn't allow the waste time to settle and develop
into health problems such as cancer or tumors. And yes,
some of that waste is cholesterol, which the fiber helps to
eliminate. Also, if you want weight loss, the intake of
fiber helps give you a fullness feeling and as a result you
don't want to eat as much. Thus, because you're not eating
as much, you lose weight. Pretty nice, huh!

With our society's new diet of processed foods and lack of
natural foods, Americans get on average 10 to 15 grams a
day of fiber, but it is usually on the low end. Our diets
consist of high saturated fats and proteins along with
these processed carbohydrates. There really isn't a lot of
fiber found in these foods. It gets lost in the
processing. New studies have shown that if you can acquire
around 30 to 35 grams of fiber a day, it will increase your
health benefits and chances of preventing cancer. But
unfortunately, some Americans couldn't identify a fruit or
a vegetable if it were in front of them. Which, as you
will learn, are great sources of fiber. So the obvious
question would be, how does one change his/her diet to get
enough fiber?

Good sources of fiber can be found in the following foods:
apples, citrus fruits, strawberries, oats, oatmeal,
potatoes, pasta, and dried beans. These are soluble
fibers, meaning they dissolve in water. These fibers help
lower the cholesterol and give you that fullness feeling
mentioned earlier. Other great sources of fiber that help
remove wastes and possibly prevent cancer are: crunchy
vegetables, whole wheat grains, and whole wheat pasta.
These foods don't dissolve in water and are commonly called
insoluble fibers. They help with waste removal as well as
possible cancer prevention. Really try to avoid foods that
are processed such as white breads and white pastas.

All in all you want to make sure you get a lot of fiber in
your diet, but don't neglect your proteins and
carbohydrates so you can really get a balanced diet and
acquire the nutrients your body needs to run efficiently.
So, bottom line is that if you are a person that has high
cholesterol, fiber will definitely help you lower it.
Along with lowering the cholesterol, you will also get a
lot of added health benefits that might help you lead a
long and happy life.

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Adam Kessler is the President of Fitness Planning
Consultants, Inc., located in Columbus, Ohio. His company
helps people safely and permenantly lose weight. To read
more about what you can do to lower cholesterol and
download his free report on the dangerous side effects of
statins go to
http://lower-cholesterol-help.com .