The Surprising Health Benefits of Fiber
By Sara Butler
Everyone knows that fiber is good for you because it, uh, helps keep your digestive system moving. But recent research has revealed some other very important ways that fiber is good for you. Here are a few more good reasons to include more fiber in your diet.
Fiber Can Help Prevent Chronic Disease
If you eat a high-fiber diet, then you're less likely to suffer from certain chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, certain types of cancer, stroke, and heart disease. The World Health Organization claims that their research has found fiber to be even more advantageous to continued health and wellness than previously thought. That's why you should have 25 grams of fiber per day at a minimum.
Fiber Helps Your Aging Brain
Animal studies have found that mice fed high-fiber diets showed reduced gut inflammation when compared with mice who weren't given as much fiber. What does this mean for humans? It means that a high-fiber diet that reduces inflammation can help to prevent an age-related decline in cognitive abilities and memory.
Fiber Promotes a Healthy Gut
Fiber is also good for your gut. Literally billions of bacteria live in your gut and they help to keep your body healthy by helping your immune system to work optimally. Low-fiber diets can cause inflammation in the intestines as well as cause weight gain and high blood sugar. Healthy gut bacteria can keep these issues from occurring and fiber keeps your gut bacteria healthy and happy.
Fiber Promotes Healthy Bones
Another benefit of a high-fiber diet that many people aren't aware of is that it's good for your bones and your joints. Eating a diet high in fiber can help to build strong bones and help prevent arthritis -- all because of how much your gut bacteria love fiber. Healthy gut bacteria helps prevent osteoporosis and arthritis too.
The common link between all of these things is inflammation -- inflammation that fiber doesn't directly help to reduce, but inflammation that is reduced through a healthy amount of gut bacteria. Fiber is simply one of the best things you can feed your gut to help keep it healthy and happy. And a healthy and happy gut can have benefits to your health that has nothing to do with digestion. Add more fiber to your diet in order to reap all these benefits and live your best life!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Dallas, Tex.