Is fiber good for you?
And, if so, what are the benefits of eating fiber?
In this guide, I’m answering those questions and more. So you’ll learn all about two types of fiber, the fiber benefits worth knowing, and how to easily get more of it into your diet.
Let’s jump in!
Two Types of Fiber and Where to Find Them
Did you know there are two types of fiber and each one works in a different way and has its own health benefits?
It’s true!
Here are the two that should be on your health radar:
1. Soluble Fiber
Soluble fiber, which is fermentable, dissolves or swells in water and most of it is digested by the bacteria in your large intestine.
This particular fiber forms a gel as it picks up water molecules and, because of that, it slows your digestion in both your stomach and intestine, which can help you feel fuller for longer.
Some common foods packed with soluble fiber include:
- Fruits like pears, apples, citrus fruits
- Veggies like peas, sweet potatoes, artichokes, carrots, beans, etc.
- Oatmeal
2. Insoluble Fiber
Insoluble fiber on the other hand, doesn’t dissolve in water, hence the name, and it’s not fermentable or digested by intestinal bacteria.
This means it doesn’t get digested and simply moves along in your digestive system.
The reason this is important is because it can help keep you regular by ensuring everything moves smoothly through your digestive system.
Foods loaded with insoluble fiber include:
- Celery
- Quinoa
- Brown rice
- Broccoli
- Green beans
- Cauliflower
- Nuts
- Potatoes
The Top 7 Fiber Health Benefits
As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of dietary fiber benefits worth mentioning and both insoluble and soluble fiber have their own magic powers.
So, without further ado, here are the top health benefits of dietary fiber that make it worth your time:
The Top 4 Soluble Fiber Health Benefits
Eating soluble fiber in particular comes with health benefits like:
1. Weight loss – Soluble fiber slows your stomach’s gastric emptying so that you feel full without having to load up on a ton of calories to get there, which can aid with weight loss.
2. Improved absorption of food – This slow movement also helps in another way – it gives your body a better chance to absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat as they make their way through your digestive system.
3. Promotes bowel movements and intestinal health – Since soluble fiber pulls in water and bulks up stool, it can help cut down on constipation and help with better bowel movements and intestinal health.
4. Decrease risks for developing cardiovascular disease – Soluble fiber also attaches itself to cholesterol molecules and helps prevent them from being absorbed by your body. It also helps to carry the cholesterol out of your system so that it doesn’t hang around long enough to cause problems. All of this can help reduce your risks for developing cardiovascular diseases.
The Top 3 Insoluble Fiber Health Benefits
Soluble fiber shouldn’t take all of the credit though since insoluble fiber also comes with its own health benefits, such as:
1. Improved digestive health – Insoluble fiber can help keep you regular and free from constipation or having hemorrhoids. That’s because it helps to bulk up your stool, as mentioned earlier, and it draws in water from your gastrointestinal tract to help “sweep” away the “junk” in your system and carry it out.
2. Helps foster weight loss – Insoluble fiber also slows down how fast your body digests it, which keeps you feeling full for longer and off of less calories, all of which can help with natural weight loss.
3. Decrease risk of developing colon cancer – With insoluble fiber keeping things moving, there’s a reduced risk of developing diseases like colon cancer or other large intestinal diseases such as diverticulosis.
Here’s a helpful visual from NASM on the different types of fiber and where to find them:
How to Reap the Health Benefits of Fiber (Aka How to Eat More Fiber Effortlessly)
I don’t expect you to memorize soluble fiber or insoluble fiber and instead it’s just important to know how valuable of a tool it can be to improve health.
So the next question becomes, how can you add more fiber to your diet effortlessly?
The following five tips can help you do just that:
1. Eat fiber rich foods at every meal, starting with breakfast. It’s hard to get enough fiber into your diet (most of us aren’t eating enough) if you only save it for dinner or you only eat it at one meal per day.
A better approach is to try to eat high fiber foods throughout your day, starting first thing. So have some veggies or a side salad with breakfast and veggies at both lunch and dinner. This ensures you get enough without having to load up on it at one meal (which can cause stomach upsets, gas, bloating, etc.).
Here’s a helpful resource from NASM’s Nutrition Course on high fiber foods:
2. Follow Glucose Goddess’ Glucose Hack and have your fiber to start your meal. To add to the positive impact fiber has on health, you should actually eat it first as biochemist Jessie Inchauspe (aka Glucose Goddess) points out.
This helps to reduce the blood sugar spike that comes with your meal and it can help slow how fast it hits your system. Controlling blood sugar spikes is a huge focus for me and I believe that everyone should pay attention to blood sugar, not just diabetics, just like Glucose Goddess believes. (more on this in another article)
3. Add some avocado if you’re short on time. If you don’t have a chance to make a side of veggies or throw together a salad, an avocado can help in a pinch.
It’s a high fiber fruit that’s also loaded with healthy fats, so it gives you two nutrient boosts in one and it’s super easy and quick to throw together.
Slice up a quarter or a half of an avocado and throw it on whatever you’re eating for a creamy fiber boost that’s effortless.
4. Find the fiber when eating out. Start your meal with a side salad or look for a side of veggies you can add to your meal if it doesn’t already come with one. Then, as Glucose Goddess mentions, eat it first to help control your blood sugar spike.
5. Don’t sweat it if you skip a meal with fiber. If you miss a meal with fiber, don’t feel like you have to give up and skip out on the rest of your meals for the day. Instead, just make sure your next snack or meal has it so that you can quickly and easily get back on track.
Since we’ve covered a ton of ground today, I’ll end here. In a future article, I’ll discuss the top high fiber foods so that you can add some to your daily meals.
Final Thoughts on Reaping the Top Fiber Benefits
I don’t want you to get hung up on insoluble vs soluble fiber and trying to figure out which ones to eat.
Instead, the important part to stress is that fiber is so beneficial to your health, making it worth it to eat with each meal.
So load up on veggies and don’t skip them!
As Glucose Goddess points out, doing so will help control your blood glucose spikes, which can cut down cravings, help you lose weight, have more energy, and more.
To enjoying fiber and the benefits that come with it,
Devan
P.S. The information and research presented in this guide came from my NASM Certified Nutrition Coach course.