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Dietary fiber plays an essential role in the body's health. Understand and know your benefits

Edited and resized image by Monika Grabkowska, is available on Unsplash

Dietary fibers are parts of plant foods that make up carbohydrates that are not digestible by the human body. They are divided into soluble and non-soluble, and can provide benefits such as preventing colorectal cancer and helping to lose weight, depending on the type.

• Soluble fibers: dissolve in water, being easily fermented in the colon, forms gases and physiologically active by-products, and can be prebiotic and viscous;
• Insoluble fiber: does not dissolve in water, is metabolically inert and provides volume, can be prebiotic and fermented in the large intestine.

Benefits

Feed the good bacteria

Bacteria that are good for the body, also called probiotics, are essential for the maintenance of health, being essential for the control of blood sugar, immune function and even brain function (see studies about it here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5).

Fibers that the body cannot digest for lack of enzymes are digested by these probiotics; thus serving as prebiotics (foods that feed the probiotics). However, in this process, gases are produced that can generate flatulence and stomach discomfort, which usually disappear over time as the body adapts.

Beneficial bacteria, when feeding on fiber, ​​produce nutrients for the body, including short-chain fatty acids such as acetate, propionate and butyrate (see study about it here: 6). These short-chain fatty acids can feed colon cells, leading to reduced bowel inflammation and amelioration of digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (see studies on this here: 6 , 7, 8).

help to lose weight

Some types of fiber help to reduce your appetite. In fact, some studies show that increasing dietary fiber intake helps to lose weight by reducing calorie intake (see studies on this: 9, 10).

Prevent spikes in blood sugar

Fiber-rich foods tend to have a lower glycemic index than refined carbohydrates, which have had most of their fiber removed.

However, only high viscosity soluble fibers have this property (see study about it here: 11).

Can reduce bad cholesterol

Soluble fiber can also lower bad cholesterol levels. A review of 67 studies found that consuming two to ten grams of soluble fiber per day reduced total cholesterol by only 1.7 mg/dl and LDL cholesterol by 2.2 mg/dl.

In the short term, this reduction is not very significant and varies according to the type of fiber ingested. However, in the long term, studies show that people who consume more fiber have a lower risk of heart disease (a condition linked to high cholesterol).

• Does altered cholesterol have symptoms? Know what it is and how to prevent

Do they improve constipation?

Fibers have the characteristic of absorbing water, increasing stool volume and facilitating fecal movement in the intestine. However, this conclusion is controversial (see studies about it here: 12, 13). While some studies show that increasing fiber intake can improve constipation symptoms, other studies show that it is removing fiber from the intestine that improves constipation. The effects depend on the type of fiber.

• What is constipation?

In a study of 63 individuals with chronic constipation, following a low-fiber diet improved the condition. While individuals who remained on a high-fiber diet did not improve.

In general, fibers that increase the water content of the stool have a laxative effect, whereas fibers that increase the dry mass of the stool without increasing its water content can have a constipation effect.

Soluble fibers that form a gel in the digestive tract and are not fermented by intestinal bacteria are effective. A good example of a gel-forming fiber is psyllium (see study about it here: 14).

Learn more about psyllium in the article: "Psyllium: understand what it's for and use it to your advantage".

Another type of fiber with a laxative effect is sorbitol, which is commonly found in plums (see studies about it here: 15, 16).

Choosing the right kind of fiber can do a lot of good for constipation, but taking the wrong supplements can do the opposite. Therefore, seek help from a health care professional before taking fiber supplements for constipation.

May reduce the risk of colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Many studies have linked a high intake of fiber-rich foods with a reduced risk of colon cancer.

However, fiber-rich whole foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains contain several other healthy nutrients and antioxidants that can affect cancer risk.

Therefore, it is difficult to isolate the effects of fiber from other benefits of natural food-based diets. To date, no strong evidence proves that fiber has cancer-preventive effects (see study on this: 17).

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