The Benefits of High-Fiber Diets

During the past 100,000 years man hasn't changed much. The size of his brain and the physiology of his body are just about the same as the ancients who invented the wheel and built the pyramids.

But our diets have changed. A lot! During the early part of the last century our great grandparents ate 500 grams of carbohydrates per day. By the end of the century we were eating 360 grams. The intake of complex carbohydrates rich in fiber has decreased enormously resulting in a lack of fiber in the American diet.

Everywhere you look nowadays, from supermarket shelves to fast food window advertisements, the low carb diet is on display. Step back from the hype and read a few articles and books on diet and nutrition. Every study conducted in the past few decades has shown that eating carbohydrates in the form of fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and beans is like a magic bullet for good health and weight loss.

Clarence Bass, bodybuilding champion and owner of Ripped Enterprises says, "Hard training athletes, including bodybuilders, need plenty of carbs to supply energy to muscles and brain. Do you think Lance Armstrong eats a low carb diet?" Bass recommends a balanced diet, which includes plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

That means fiber. In their book, 20/30 Fat Fiber Diet Plan, Gabe Mirkin, M.D. and Barry Fox, Ph.D. write, "Large amounts of dietary fiber are absolutely essential for good health." The dietary fiber you'd find in baked beans, chick peas, or lentils is made up of substances found only in the walls of plant cells. The body cannot digest these dietary fibers. They simply go in one end and out the other. But, while these fibers move through your system, they provide your body with the health and vitality it needs.

Scientific research shows us that most human diseases are caused by poor nutrition. Illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and digestive problems are caused by an inappropriate diet. Eating foods rich in high fiber promote health and reduces weight.

Here's what fiber does for you:

• Fiber absorbs water making your feces softer and elimination easier. It helps prevent hemorrhoids, varicose veins, and constipation.
• It prevents colon cancer.
• Helps stop diverticulosis, an inflammation of the colon, which occurs in 10 to 25 percent of the population. It's thought to be caused by a diet rich in processed foods.
• Guards against heart disease, high blood pressure, sky high cholesterol levels, and obesity.

Fiber can only be found in plants, and these plant cells are rich in phytochemicals. In their book, Mirkin and Fox write, "Numerous foods contain powerful substances that fight deadly diseases, control free radical damage, lessen the body's inflammation response, and strengthen the immune system." These phytochemicals help us become fit and maintain that special healthy glow.

Here are a few of the twenty-five phytochemicals mentioned in The 20/30 Fat & Fiber Plan:

• Adenosine, found in garlic, black mushrooms, and onions, acts as a blood thinner. It helps to prevent the formation of unnecessary blood clots, and helps in the fight against heart disease and strokes. Recent studies show that adenosine fights insomnia.
• Bioflavonoids are the natural pigments in fruits and vegetables providing our bodies with antioxidants that ward off cancer and heart disease. Recent studies have shown it to strengthen the walls of capillaries. It helps blood clot, reduces bruising, brain and retinal hemorrhages, bleeding gums and other abnormalities. Green tea, which has catechins, a bioflavonoid, is thought to slow the aging process.
• Genistein helps fight against cancers of the breast and uterus by blocking the flow of blood to tumors. Tofu and other soy products have this phytochemical.
• Glutathione, an antioxidant, fights cancer, heart disease, and delays the symptoms of aging. Tomatoes, watermelon, and strawberries have this free radical fighter.
• Phenols are found in garlic, soybeans, potatoes, and citrus fruit. Phenol compounds fight viruses, neutralizes carcinogens, and controls excessive bleeding.

It's a known fact that protein builds muscles. However, too much of it causes our bodies to excrete calcium, which increases the loss of bone tissue. This has the disheartening effect of encouraging osteoporosis. According to a report in the June 1994 New England Journal of Medicine, researchers discovered by eating less protein, the problem is reversible.

Bass says, "Athletes that train hard at both strength and endurance need the most protein. However, it's usually more than they need. Most would do better eating more unrefined carbs and good fat." Translation: high fiber diets.

High protein consumption with large amounts of animal products made from beef, lamb, and pork slows the digestive process. Non-complex carbohydrates--cookies, pastries, most breads, and sauces, have the same effect.

In his book Dr Tooshi's High Fiber Diet, Dr. Alan M. Tooshi says, "We need a diet high in dietary fiber to move food quickly through the digestive system." Dr. Tooshi explains what happens when the digestive system slows down in an effort to digest proteins, fats, and non-complex carbohydrates:

1. Blood has more time to sponge up calories into the body causing a weight gain.
2. Food slowed while passing through the small intestine permits the body to absorb more cholesterol and salt from the digestible foods. This results in higher blood pressure and increased levels of cholesterol.
3. In the digestive tract, bacteria have plenty of time to feed off these foods producing toxic materials, which can damage colon tissue leading to colon cancer.
4. In the large intestine, slow moving feces lose it water content. It becomes dry and hard causing constipation.
5. Diets high in animal fats also slow the digestive process. The fat remains in the digestive tract longer than high fiber foods, thus attracting more bacteria. This bacterium has plenty of time to produce large amounts of gas, which causes individuals to experience pain and bloating.

Dietary fiber found in fruits, vegetables, and legumes behave like a sponge absorbing water, slipping through the digestive tract quickly making feces soft and loose.

So push away that steak and shove aside that loaf of white bread. Reach for the beans, green salad, and fruit. A high fiber diet helps the digestive system, fights cancer, and slows the aging process. It's that magic bullet that will help you maintain your youth and health. What could be better than that?