How Fiber Can Save Your Life

[Guest guest]

How Fiber Can Save Your Life

Contact

Change Email

Remove Email

In the 1970's, researcher Dennis Burkitt, MD noticed that

rural Africans eating their traditional diet had almost no colon

cancer, constipation, diabetes, diverticulosis or diverticulitis, heart

disease or IBS.

On the other hand, Africans consuming a more Western-type diet

suffered from ALL of those problems and more.

He saw a similar situation when comparing hospitals in India and

America...

In a hospital in India, he found that there virtually no one

that had a hiatal hernia, yet hiatal hernia affects nearly 1 out of 3

Americans over age 50. Plus, the rate of appendicitis in the American

hospital was 50 TIMES what it was in the Indian hospital!

After he picked his jaw back up off the ground, Dr. Burkitt

concluded that the large amount of fiber in the African and Indian diets was

the reason for the dramatically low rates of illness.

And lo and behold, the age of " Get more fiber " was upon us.

A whole lot more than keeping you " regular "

Since Dr. Burkitt's studies, we've learned a lot more about the

health benefits of fiber.

Keeping you " regular " is just the beginning. In addition to

helping prevent constipation, fiber also:

- Helps with Crohn's disease, hiatal hernia, IBS and peptic

ulcer

- Reduces your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and

certain types of cancer (especially colon cancer)

- Helps normalize your cholesterol levels

- Reduces the incidence of colon polyps and bowel diseases

- Helps prevent obesity by slowing the release of insulin and

stored glucose in your bloodstream

- Helps prevent appendicitis, hemorrhoids and even varicose

veins

- Binds with toxins in your intestines and helps them to be

eliminated with your bowel movement, instead of being reabsorbed and making

you sick

The three types

" Fiber " actually refers to three different types -- Insoluble,

soluble and semi-soluble.

Each has its own unique health benefits as shown below:

1- Insoluble fiber

Insoluble fiber is basically like a broom to your gut. You don't

digest it, but it helps " move things along " and keeps your colon very

healthy. It is what is responsible for improved BMs and fewer symptoms of

bowel issues like Crohn's.

Insoluble fiber is found in the outside layer of grains, in the

skins of most fruits and vegetables and in the long, stringy strands of

celery.

2- Soluble fiber

Soluble fiber is in the " meaty " part of fruits and vegetables as

well as in beans, legumes and psyllium seeds. It's the type of fiber that is

associated with lower cholesterol, blood pressure and diabetes.

You don't actually digest soluble fiber--the friendly flora in

your gut do that job. When your beneficial gut bacteria break down soluble

fiber they release short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids help keep your

colon wall strong and can also help prevent cancer.

3- Semi-soluble fiber

Semi-soluble fiber is part of the cell wall of carbohydrates

from plants like asparagus, chicory, leeks, onions, Jerusalem artichokes,

flaxseeds and psyllium husks.

Semi-soluble fiber can help grab onto and remove dangerous heavy

metals from your body that you take in from food and the environment. It

also can be a source of nourishment for your friendly flora.

We're falling WAY short

In the 1850's the average American ate 25 to 30 grams of fiber a

day naturally from their diet and conditions like diverticulosis were

unheard of.

Now? We're lucky if we get 14 to 15. Most people today get far

less than that.

No wonder we're blocked up, bloated, burping, belching and are

the leaders of the free world in numbers of cases of gut problems. At least

1 out of every 4 Americans has a digestive disorder and those numbers

continue to climb.

We need more! But what and how much?

Clearly it's no secret that we need fiber. Even the medical

community acknowledges this and frequently recommends " more fiber " for a

variety of GI problems.

But the problem is, that's where their fiber suggestions end.

And as a result, if you blindly hop on the " more fiber "

bandwagon, it can hurt you more than help you.

Here's how:

Fiber in a jar

As I mentioned above, fiber can be found in a variety of fruits,

vegetables and whole grains.

But some people would rather stick needles in their eyeballs

than to eat a fruit, vegetable or a " grain " other than white bread.

Still others don't want to be bothered preparing fresh foods.

So what do they do instead? Take Metamucil of course! They'll be

all set, right?

Well, not exactly.

Metamucil (and similar products) is a psyllium husk-based

laxative. It contains 3 grams of fiber (about the same as an apple) which is

FAR below the recommended 25-30 grams.

And regardless of its fiber content, it nonetheless is a

laxative which can not only be habit-forming but also make your intestines

sluggish and eventually make YOU unable to have a bowel movement without it.

Hmmm. Let's now look at...

Fiber in a box

General Mills and Kellogg's hit the mother lode when the fiber

craze began.

After all, it gave them a VERY profitable angle to use in

marketing their processed-to-death so-called " foods " by actually making them

appear healthy in another way besides the sprinkled-in synthetic nutrients.

Chi-ching!

Here's the reality. Let's take a close look at four out of the

first six ingredients in General Mills' fiber superstar -- Whole Grain Total

cereal:

1) Whole wheat -- in a form that has NEVER occurred in nature.

Here's how far it's traveled from Nature's version of wheat:

First the wheat gets mixed with flavoring agents, synthetic

vitamins, minerals, sweeteners, salt and water in a huge pressure cooker.

Once it's cooked to death, the wheat is moved to a conveyor belt

which passes through a drying oven. But enough of the water is left in the

cooked grain to result in a soft, solid mass which can be shaped as needed.

The cooked wheat is allowed to cool for several hours, then it's

flattened between large metal rollers under TONS of pressure. The resulting

flakes are then moved to ovens where they are blasted with very hot air to

remove any remaining moisture and to toast them to the desired color and

flavor.

Tell me, how many nutrients do you think are left in the slop,

er, I mean wheat at this point?

2) Sugar -- Whole Grain Total has a moderate 5g (1 1/4

teaspoons) of sugar in each 3/4 cup " serving, " but when was the last time

you ate just 3/4 cup of cereal?

The average cereal bowl holds 2-3 cups, so chances are excellent

that you're really getting as many as 5 teaspoons of sugar for breakfast.

Healthy, huh?

3) Malt extract -- Sugar again. This is an extract obtained from

soaking and heating barley grains until a sugar is formed.

4) Corn syrup -- aka high fructose corn syrup, aka MORE sugar.

HFCS turns into fatty acids, bad cholesterol and triglycerides, which in

turn get stored as fat.

These fatty deposits accumulate in the liver and muscle tissues,

leading to insulin resistance, type II diabetes and fatty liver disease.

Plus, studies have shown unsafe levels of MERCURY in high fructose corn

syrup.

Oh, but let's not forget that this processed lab creation does

have 3 grams of fiber per serving mixed in with all that garbage--again

about the same as an apple and far less than what you need in a day.

Living foods = living YOU

The importance of fiber can't be questioned...BUT it's essential

to get your fiber from LIVING foods and not DEAD foods. Essential, as in

MUST.

Living foods are foods that are alive -- like fresh fruits and

vegetables. They're loaded with fiber and nutrients in their natural form

that are best absorbed and utilized by your body. And they come with their

own naturally occurring enzymes to make digestion of them a snap.

They are living and contribute to life -- YOUR life if you eat

them.

Dead foods (like cereals) on the other hand, are foods that have

been processed and have had most or all of their nutrients destroyed.

They're much harder for your body to break down, they use up your precious

enzymes for digestion AND cause acid waste buildup.

Dead foods make it that much sooner that you'll be, well, dead.

And a horrible, pain-filled death it will likely be.

As long as a large portion of your diet is living foods, you can

easily get all the fiber you need, and will likely be much more healthy and

energized to boot. A diet of mostly dead foods, on the other hand, means

sickness, pain and overweight.

Love every bite of your fiber

'Lower the noise in your life and you will hear God more clearly.'

~Sugar