Fiber
Dietary Fiber 

Dietary fibers play a very important role in my anti-aging diet program. Today most of us know the value of fiber from fruits and vegetables. But we never consume enough fiber in our routine daily meals. So I would like to emphasize how important it is to consume 20 to 30 grams of fiber every day.

25 years ago the word " fiber" was not even mentioned in medical text books except for the statement " roughage foods are good for constipation." The importance of fiber in the human diet, however, has been recognized since 450 years b.c. Hippocrates observed that " To the human body it makes a great deal of difference whether the bread be made of fine flour or coarse, whether of wheat or bran, or without the bran."

Today we know a lot about the benefits fiber since Burkitt and Trowell proposed the "Fiber Hypothesis" in the early 1960s.

"A diet low in fiber either causes or predisposes individuals to certain diseases and a diet rich in fiber helps protect against certain diseases prevalent in affluent Western communities" - this hypotheses was based on epidemiological studies in tropical Africa where certain diseases (such as diabetes, coronary heart disease, colorectal cancer, constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticular disease) are rarely seen but are very common in Western countries. Since then many studies have been carried out including double blind studies.

Here is a list of some benefits of dietary fiber:

1. Better digestion
2. Better digestion
3. Better elimination
4. Lowers cholesterol
5. Lowers blood pressure
6. Prevents colon cancer
7. Prevents appendicitis, diverticulosis of the colon, hiatal hernias, and hemorrhoids
8. Prevents breast cancer
9. Reduces post menopause symptoms
10. Reduces premenstrual syndrome symptoms
11. Helping losing weight
12. Detoxification

WHAT IS FIBER?

Fiber is what gives plants their structure. It is the part of the food we eat that is not digested. Fiber has no calories but provides the bulk of the food we eat. Fiber is a subclass of carbohydrates that consists of nonstarch or unavailable polysaccharides, its major constituents being CELLULOSE, HEMICELLULOSE, LIGNIN PECTINS, GUMS and MUCILAGES.

There are two kinds of fiber:
1. Soluble fiber: Fibers that dissolve in water and becomes gummy in water. (PECTINS, GUMS and MUCILAGES). One gram of soluble fiber can hold water up to 15 cc of water.
2. Insoluble fiber: Fibers that do not dissolve in water (CELLULOSE, HEMICELLULOSE, LIGNIN)

Most foods contain both types of fibers. Here is the top twelve of common food we eat that contain fiber of each type.

WATER-SOLUBLE FIBERS

Top 12 in soluble fiber content:
1. Artichoke 1 globe 4.7 gm. (total 6.5)
2. Strawberries 1 cup 3.4 gm (4.3)
3. Prunes (dries) ½ cup 3.1 gm. (5.7)
4. Kidney bean (cooked) ½ cup 2.9 gm (5.7)
5. Lima bean (cooked) ½ cup 2.6 gm (6.1)
6. Psyllium (Metamucil)
a. Regular 1 Tsp 2.4 gm. (3)
b. Orange sugar free 1 Tsp 2.4 gm (3)
c. Orange sugar 1 Tbsp 2.4 gm (3)
7. Grapefruit (medium) 1 2.3 gm (2.8)
8. Pear (medium) 1 2.2 gm (4)
9. Oat bran cereal (uncooked) 1 ounce 2 gm (4.3)
10. Orange (medium) 1 1.8 gm (3.1)
11. Apricots 1 cup 7 gm. (3.7)
12. Peanuts (roasted) ½ cup 1.3 gm. (6.1)

WATER-INSOLUBLE FIBERS

Top 12 insoluble fiber contents:
1. Bran cereal 1 ounce 8.9 gm (total 9.7)
2. Raspberries 1 cup 7.5 gm. (8.4)
3. Blackberries 1 cup 5.8 gm (7.2)
4. Pinto bean ½ cup 5.5 gm (7.4)
5. Peanuts (roasted) ½ cup 4.9 gm (6.1)
6. Blueberries 1 cup 3.5 gm (3.9)
7. Apple (with peel, medium) 1 2.8 gm. (3.7)
8. Prunes (dries) ½ cup 2.7 gm. (5.7)
9 Potato, sweet ½ cup 2.4 gm (3.8)
10. Oat bran cereal (uncooked) 1 ounce 2.3 gm (4.3)
11. Banana (medium) 1 2.1 gm (2.7)
12. Pear (with peel, medium) 1 1.8 gm (4)

HOW FIBER HELPS YOU AND HOW IT WORKS?

Fiber has two therapeutic Effects to our health: mechanical and metabolic effects.

1. Fiber increases stool volume and water content: As mention before fibers are the indigestible parts of food we eat. So fibers will increase stool volume (water-insoluble) and well as increasing water content in stool (water-soluble) due to water holding capacity and therefore increase transit time (normal 15 to36 hours) these properties will help regulate the bowel movement and prevent CONSTIPATION. This means less strain during defecation and therefore reduce intra abdominal pressure. this will reduce the incident of HEMORRHOIDS, HIATAL HERNIA, INGUALNAL HERNIA. Preventing DIVERTICULAR DISEASE due to increasing stool volume. Which in turn enlarges lumen size. According to Laplace's law, pressure equals tension over radius and therefore will decrease intraluminal pressure. This, in turn, lessens the possibility of diverticular formation.

2. Fiber Increases viscosity of food content (water-soluble) in stomach. This effect will delay gastric emptying time as well as making you feel full faster and therefore make you eat less this effect also reduce post prandial blood sugar by delaying absorption of sugar in small intestine. So this property will help you on WEIGHT CONTROL and DIABETES MELLITUS.

3. Fiber binds with bile acids (cation exchange) in small bowel (water soluble) This effect works similar to bile acid-sequestrant drugs such as questran. You probably know that bile acids contain cholesterol, produce by liver and release to intestine by gall bladder to help digest (emulsify) a fatty meal. Most of bile acids will reabsorb back to circulation in distal small bowel. It has been proven that water-soluble fiber prevent absorption of bile acid and therefore reducing cholesterol to reabsorb back to circulation with reduction of total blood cholesterol up to 17 percents, ultimately reducing incidence of CORONARY HEART DISEASE. As well as reducing incidence of gall bladder stone. When liver has less cholesterol as a raw material for bile salt production. The content of bile therefore has less cholesterol, which will reduce incidence of cholesterol stone in gall bladder. The incidence of GALL BLADDER DISEASE such as CHOLECYSTITIS and GALL BLADDER STONE will be reduce drastically.

4. Fiber (water-soluble) increases fermentation by bacteria in the large bowel (colon). This fermentation produces short-chain fatty acids (propionate & acetate), which, in turn, inhibit hepatic production of lipoproteins and therefore reducing blood cholesterol This activity will reduce the incidence of CORONARY HEART DISEASE and GALL BLDDER DISEASE as well as DEGENERATIVE BOWEL DISEASES (by increasing colonic bacteria and stool volume).

5. Fiber and cancer prevention: this subject still controversial. According epidemiological studies for the past 40 years proving to decrease incidence of colorectal cancer. However recent study report in NEJM April20, 2000 indicated that high fiber, low fat diet not prevent recurrence of colorectal adenoma in the short term (4 years). However I believe life long intake of high fiber helps prevent cancer.

The probable mechanisms are:
a. Fiber increase transit time which will reduce epithelial cell exposure to chemical or carcinogens as well as dilute them.
b. Fiber lowers pH, thereby inhibiting bacterial degradation of normal fecal constituents to potential carcinogen.
c. Fiber increases the formation of butyrate, which has been shown to protect mucosa cells from malignant transformation.
d. Fiber serves as the substrate for generation of short chain fatty acids that are the preferred substrate for colonic epithelial cells.

In conclusion, the higher the fiber you take (up to 35 gm/day) daily the better off for your health. It will reduce the incidence of CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, DEGERATIVE

BOWEL DISEASES and possible CANCER