How fiber helps reduce weight and improve health

We try to take into account the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in order to eat a full meal. But we often forget about another important element – fiber.

Fiber is a dietary fiber that does not provide us with energy and is not digested by the body, so food and beverage manufacturers do not take fiber into account when they list the nutritional value of a product. Why shouldn’t we forget about fiber and what are its benefits?

Fibers are processed by the beneficial microflora of the intestine and support stable functioning of the digestive system. Fiber reduces the feeling of hunger, which helps not to overeat and control weight. Soluble dietary fiber regulates blood sugar and cholesterol levels, while insoluble fiber cleanses the body and removes toxins. And this is only part of the benefits of fiber.

Harvard Medical School has published the results of 250 studies that confirm the protective function of dietary fiber. Approximately 30 grams of fiber in a daily diet reduces the risk of heart disease, heart attacks, strokes, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer by 16-24%.

According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, eating fiber-rich foods reduces deaths from infectious and respiratory diseases from 24% to 56% in men, and from 34% to 59% in women.

Soluble fiber helps manage belly fat, one of the most dangerous types of obesity, according to experts. An extra 10 grams of plant fiber in your daily diet reduces your risk of gaining excess weight by 3.7%.

Fiber keeps intestinal microflora healthy, reduces the production of hunger-inducing hormones and slows the movement of food in the gut, helping not to overeat. As with most weight loss methods, a plant fiber-rich diet alone is not enough to lose weight and make the results stick. You also need to consider your overall health, your usual eating habits, your quality of sleep and your physical activity.