The goodness of fibre

AS children, most of us had to battle our parents during mealtimes. We were probably confused as to why adults kept wheedling us into eating the “icky” green stuff on our plates.

Despite the tantrums that often involved crying, screaming and vomiting, vegetables always made it past our lips while our parents tried to educate us about their nutritional value. Even so, vegetables rarely became a childhood favourite.

As we grew up, we eventually learnt the benefits of eating vegetables and they started making their way into our stomachs, becoming an essential part of our diet that we now cannot live without.

Not just food

Fibre is commonly categorised as soluble or insoluble fibre. Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance while insoluble fibre increases stool bulk and prevents constipation. It does more than just promote bowel movement. Dietary fibre also:

Aids in forming healthier eating habits – An increase in dietary fibre intake is often associated with better management of body weight. Fibre can make you feel fuller during meals, reducing your chances of overeating.

Fibre-rich foods tend to require more chewing than low-fibre foods, which slows down your eating and decreases your chances of developing indigestion. Helps regulate blood sugar levels grains and fruits can slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream and help improve blood sugar levels in prediabetics or diabetics. Insoluble fibre, which can be found in most leafy vegetables, can reduce one’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Lowers blood cholesterol levels – One of the ways soluble fibre may achieve this is by interfering with the reabsorption of bile in the intestines. If not reabsorbed, bile is excreted in the faeces.

To make up for this loss of bile, the liver makes more bile salts by increasing its production of lowdensity lipoprotein (LDL) receptors. These receptors pull cholesterol out of LDL molecules in the bloodstream to synthesise bile, hence lowering LDL levels in the body. Lowers risk of heart disease – Due to its effect on LDL cholesterol levels, an increase in fibre intake may reduce the risk of heart attacks.

A 2016 article in the British Medical Journal, which compiled data from several studies, found that people who maintained a high-fibre diet (30g to 40g of whole grains per meal) saw a 40% decrease in their risk of developing heart disease. Promotes bowel health Increased fibre intake can decrease the risk of developing haemorrhoids, diverticular disease and diverticulitis, and colorectal cancer.

Diverticulitis is the infection or inflammation of pouches that form

Fibre-rich foods tend to require more chewing than low-fibre foods, which slows down your eating and decreases your chances of developing indigestion.

in the wall of the colon and can be very painful to endure.

Doctors do not know what exactly causes diverticulitis, but it is believed that a low-fibre diet plays a role.

Vitamode Daily Cleanse Fiber Drink contains a unique mixture of different types of soluble fibre, including organic psyllium husk, wheat dextrin, prebiotics such as inulin and fructo-oligosaccharides, and electrolytes.

Taking one sachet daily can help prevent constipation and keep your gut healthy.

This article is brought to you by Vitamode. For more information, call 1300 800 228 or e-mail enquiry@ medispec.com.my