Exploring Fiber

Recently I was asked to research fiber, and find 3-5 interesting facts about fiber, and the significant role they play in our health.

What I found to be most important, is that fiber fights diseases.  Not only will a fiber enriched diet prevent colon cancer and heart diseases, but it helps with constipation and cholesterol elimination.  When cooking foods, one needs not worry because fiber cannot be cooked out of foods.


Fiber is critical to ones diet because it attracts water to the digestive tract, and exercises the muscle of the digestive tract.  Fiber speeds up food passage, and prevents exposure of the digestive tract tissue to cancer causing agents in foods.  Fiber binds with cholesterol and carries it out of the body, reducing the risk of heart disease, in addition to slowing sugar absorption after a meal and may reduce the amount of insulin needed.


Fiber is found in fruits, veggies, dried beans, wheat bran, seeds, popcorn, brown rice, and whole grain products such as bread, cereals and pasta.  


Another interesting fact that I found, if one should increase fiber intake, this should be accompanied by water increase.


Studies show that fiber has been effective in weight control.  Results from the Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals from 1994-199 supported the relationship between a high fiber intake and lower body weight.  One reason fiber MAY have an impact on body weight is its ability to slow the movement of food through the intestines.  It may sound odd- but it actually helps to reduce hunger feelings and has been show to decrease the number of calories that are actually absorbed from the ingested food.


Fiber has also been linked to controlling diabetes, preventing heart disease, and helping with bowel disorders.


There are two different types of fiber, soluble and insoluble fiber.  Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel like substance- examples include beans, peas, soybeans, apples, bananas, berries, barley, some veggies.  Insoluble fiber increases the movement of material through your digestive tract and increases your stool bulk.  Examples include whole wheat foods, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skin of some fruits and veggies.

1. www.campshane.com/nutritional/nutrition/fiber.htm - Cached - Similar - 

   
   

   http://www.medicinenet.com/fiber/page6.htm

   
   

Exploring Protein

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Protein.  What do you think of when you hear the word protein?  Most people would say meat, or building muscles.  While this is not incorrect, there are many interesting things about protein that one should know to make informed decisions about the best diet, and healthy choices.  In recent research, I discovered these interesting things about protein.


1.  Protein makes up your body's structure.  Protein repairs muscle, grows tissue, regulates hormones, controls metabolism, defends against illness, makes up ligaments, tendons, muscles, hair, nails, skin, teeth, tissue, organs, and bones.  About 1/2 of the non-water mass of your body is made up of protein.


2. Proteins are made up of amino acids, which are small units formed of carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, and oxygen.  Amino Acids are literally the building blocks of the body.  The body can only manufacture 14 of the 22 amino acids, the rest must come from food.


3.  This is a direct excerpt from http://www.marksdailyapple.com/top-ten-protein-sources/  I found this to be informative and true.  For the record, vegetarians will not die of protein deprivation. I hope no one believes that anymore. It helps to understand that protein is a macronutrient. What we call “protein” is, in fact, a family of amino acid molecules. When grouped together in various combinations we get proteins. There’s no protein molecule hanging out in that hamburger; rather, the animal tissue is made of many different amino acid building blocks. Protein is just a catch-all term we use. This is why vegetarians won’t keel over as people once feared. 


4.  Protein comes in many different sources.  Some examples of protein are... Meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, beans, soups, nuts.  We don't have to consume meat as we once thought to consume the recommended amount of protein.  For example, 3 oz of turkey has 25 grams of protein, which is a high protein source.  One can easily meet this by having 1/2 cup of almonds (14 grams of protein) 1/2 cup of scrambled eggs (12 grams of protein).


5. Another thing that I found interesting, is that protein can affect the heart.  By eating more vegetable protein, combined with cutting back on early digested carbohydrates may actually benefit the heart.  A 20 year study of 82,802 women found that those who ate low carb diets that were also high in vegetable sources of fat or protein had a 30 percent lower risk of heart disease, compared to women who ate high-carbohydrate, low-fat diets.  But women who ate low-carbohydrate diets that were high in animal fats or proteins did not have a reduced risk of heart disease.

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Sources (others listed above)

WebMD http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002467.htm

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/protein-full-story/index.html