Fiber helps save your life

When it comes to textile fibers, cotton is king. In the U.S., 17 million bales (each weighing 480 pounds) are produced annually -with Texas, Georgia and Mississippi growing the most. When it comes to fiber foods, all beans (pinto, black, lima, kidney, etc.), raspberries, avocados, oats, apples, carrots, nuts, collard, turnip and beet greens, cauliflower, green beans, potatoes and 100% whole grains are king of your plate.

Almost all edible plants contain soluble and insoluble fiber. You want a daily mix of both. Soluble fiber is digested in the colon. It helps feed your gut biome, regulates glucose and cholesterol levels and helps you stay heart-healthy. Insoluble fiber passes through your guts unchanged -- and helps prevent constipation.

But that’s not all fiber can do for your health. A metastudy from New Zealand, published in PLOS Medicine, reveals just how powerful the benefits of dietary fiber are, especially if you have prediabetes or diabetes. The researchers looked at a very large pool of studies and found that increasing your intake of dietary fiber by 15 grams a day and/or getting 35 grams total daily significantly reduces your risk of dying prematurely from diabetes and its associated complications, such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc.

What that means for you: You can increase your fiber intake by around 15 grams daily if you enjoy a half of a cup of chickpeas or a cup of raspberries (8 grams) and one cup of whole-wheat pasta (6 grams). Easy peasy! (Peas have 7 grams of fiber in a cup.)

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Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live