I was looking through some cereals at the store the other day and noticed that fiber is now being broken up on food labels into the amount of soluble fiber versus insoluble fiber.
This made me a little nervous as I was not sure what I would really want in my diet. Is one better than the other? Well in a word, NO. Here is the differences:
Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber is a fiber that binds with fatty acids, this helps it sit in your stomach and allows the sugars (carbohydrates) to site in your stomach longer and to be broken down. This will help to lower your cholesterol and to also regulate your blood sugar level better so it is helpful for everyone but especially those with diabetes.
Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber does not bind with anything and is the most common type of fiber in any diet. The insoluble fiber in your diet is the one that people most think about with fiber, it moves the bulk through your digestive system as well as toxins out of your colon.
Also insoluble fiber is helpful for regulating the PH level in your digestive tract.
So now you know. You will more than likely, when you look, see that there is more insoluble fiber but do not go out looking for more or less of either more often just go and make sure that you are getting a lot of fiber in your diet.
Most North American diets are very low in fiber as it is a natural food and as we know most people eat a lot more very processed and refined food and are therefore missing out on the health benefits of fiber.
Increasing Fiber Intake
How can you increase your intake of fiber easily? Well there are some obvious sources like Bran cereals and bran muffins but also legumes peas, soybeans, and other beans oats, rye, chia, and barley some fruits including apples and bananas, and berries, vegetables, such as broccoli, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, celery and tomatoes also root vegetables, such as potatoes and yams.
Is that enough sources of fiber? And can you see why most people do not get much fiber in their diet?