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Monday, March 28, 2011

Fiber Can Save Your Life / What Fiber Can Do

     Grandma called it roughage. We call it fiber. Whatever its name, it made headline news when a British surgeon and cancer specialist, Dr. Dennis Burkitt, noted that the Third World natives he was treating almost never developed diverticulousis of the colon and other digestive maladies that are widespread in Western Europe and the United States.
     Medical detective work indicated that eating habits made the difference!
     The native's diet consisted mainly of such fiber-rich foods as grains, nuts, and beans. The average American's diet is low in fiber and high in red meat and other foods containing saturated fats.
     Dr. Burkitt also observed that when the Third World natives became more "civilized," they changed their diet. Their intake of white flour and sugar increased. They turned away from high-fiber natural foods in favor of highly refined foods with carbohydrates depleted of fiber.
     When the native's diet changed, their rate of modern-day digestive and intestinal ailments suddenly skyrocketed. Statistics point to fiber as the nutrient that made the difference.

                                     What Fiber Can Do

     Fiber can help you to live many years longer because of its impact on your weight, your heart and your digestive and intestinal system.
     Fiber can bring down your weight, because the bulkiness of fiber-rich foods creates a feeling of fulliness. You'll automatically eat less and still feel satisfied. Fiber foods usually take longer to chew. They satisfy your oral cravings, and chewing will reduce the risk of gum and tooth disorders caused by soft and sugary foods.
     Fiber also helps ward off such intestinal disorders as constipation, spastic colon and diverticulosis. It eases bowel movements, reducing the strain on the bowel and blood vessels. This means less danger of hernia, hemorrhoids and varicose veins.
     Fiber has the ability to bind bile salts and hurry along the elimination of irritating, potentially harmful bacteria. It shortens the time the bacteria is in contact with intestinal walls.
     Research by the British Heart Association indicates that certain types of fiber may lower choloesterol levels in the body and thereby reduce the risk of coronary disease.
     Experts also theorize that fiber picks up bile acids which your body uses to absorb fat in the diet and produce a beneficial fat in the liver. They say body cholesterol may bind directly to fiberin the intestines. This fatty cholesterol may then be eliminated in bowel movements, stream and deposited along artery walls.
     Fiber can save your life by preventing the clotting of arteries and reducing the danger of cancer of the colon.  </1454947>

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