Your mom was right—you need to eat your vegetables.
Remember sitting at the table and trying to hide that last bite of broccoli under your napkin? Turns out, Mom’s steely stare was the foundation for lifelong healthy eating. Combined with exercise, a balanced diet fuels your body to take on any challenge.
Crunchy, delicious, fiber-rich foods are paramount to aiding healthy digestion and promoting a healthy gut—which is commonly referred to the foundation of health. Your digestive tract needs help processing the nutrients from your foods, and the right amount of fiber helps your body remove waste and maintain optimal gastrointestinal health.
So, listen to Mom. Here are some tips for getting the fiber your body needs.
Something to Digest
Fiber is key for healthy digestion. But why? If we’re going to really examine why eating fiber-rich foods is important, we’re going to have to get gross for a moment. Proper fiber levels are important because they help you poop.
Here’s a thumbnail sketch on how food is processed:
Digestion starts with chewing and swallowing. In the stomach, food mixes with digestive enzymes to further break down food. Then your intestines absorb nutrients, and the rectum expels anything that wasn’t digested. From the moment you take a bite until you head to the bathroom, it takes about 36 hours.
Because the majority of carbs, fats, and proteins are absorbed during the intestinal phase, you’ll want to support your body with fiber to keep things moving through your system. While other carbohydrates are broken down into sugars, dietary fiber is composed of complex chain of digestive enzymes your body can’t break down. This is especially important because fiber helps regulate sugar levels in the normal range and supports healthy stool size.
Good stool size means more absorption of nutrients in the intestines and fewer chances for constipation. If your bowel movements are watery or loose, adding fiber can help solidify. This additional bulk soaks up the water and helps with waste removal.
Women require around 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day while men need about 30 to 38 grams—so start reaching for healthy sources of fibrous food or fiber powder you can mix with your morning protein shake.
Delicious and Crunchy
There are two types of dietary fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and helps lower blood cholesterol—key for balanced, overall health. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water and aids regularity and helps minimize occasional constipation.
The best sources for soluble fiber are found in oatmeal, apples, blueberries, beans, and nuts. To get insoluble fibers for healthy digestion, fill your grocery list with cucumbers, legumes, brown rice, whole wheat bread, whole grain couscous, and tomatoes.
It’s important to note that smart food choices support all stages of good health and digestion. When looking to add natural dietary fiber to your diet, consider adding foods like popcorn, dried fruits, avocados, kale, and broccoli (for mom!).
Fill You Up Right
One of the best benefits of eating a fiber-rich diet is weight management or supporting a healthy weight. Fibrous foods fill you up and make you more feel satiated than other food options. Think about it: snacking on an apple gives you 4.4 grams of dietary fiber with only 95 calories. And because apples are an excellent source of fiber, you’ll experience a feeling of fullness after eating one. This satisfaction can stop cravings in their tracks—which is a perfect recipe for weight loss.
Plus, choosing the right foods can help with keeping your blood sugar in normal levels. After eating a meal, your blood sugar increases and eventually decreases until it drops to normal levels. The more your blood sugar levels fluctuate, the more likely you’ll feel hungry. Fiber can make these swings smaller, which helps reduce hunger and minimize food cravings.
And the good news: however you choose to cook high-fiber foods doesn’t impact the benefit to your body. Because fiber is a carbohydrate your body cannot process into sugar, you can cook, chop, or blend foods to your heart’s content—so whip up an easy fruit-and-veggie smoothie to get all the fiber goodness your body needs for the day.
Find the right balance in your diet by focusing on fiber. Mom will thank you.
Ben Raskin is a writer and avid skateboarder. He enjoys traveling to state parks and spearfishing. Follow his adventures on Instagram @USANABen.
