Hello and welcome to my new series on nutrition, Health from the inside out!  As you may or may not know, I am currently training to become a Holistic Nutritionist, and that involves learning a lot about the impact that different foods have on our body’s systems.  In this weekly series I will do my best to put some of that knowledge into easy to understand posts. 

I thought for my first instalment I would highlight an extremely important dietary component: Fibre. 

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First, let me drop some science on you:

• Fibre is a complex carbohydrate called a polysaccharide
• fibre is indigestible, meaning your body does not absorb any vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients from fibre as it moves through your body
• it is indigestible because your body does not have the enzymes to break down  the beta-bonds that hold the long chain of the polysaccharide together
• there are 2 main types of fibre, soluble and insoluble.  You need both in your diet to ensure your food has a smooth transition from beginning to end

Now, onto the reasons why you should make sure your diet has enough fibre*:

1. It keeps things moving – no one likes to talk about it, but constipation happens.  It is much less likely to happen to you if you are ingesting a good amount of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibre on a daily basis.  Fibre gives your intestinal walls something to push against, which will push things through your digestive system faster
2. Insoluble fibre can lower blood cholesterol – Fibre binds with bile in the intestines, and moves out of your body.  Your body then has to create more bile, and how does it do that? By using the fat (cholesterol) in your blood!  This is why cereals like Cheerio’s claim to lower cholesterol.
3. soluble fibre helps stabilize blood sugar for type II diabetes – Fibre slows the absorption rate of sugar, and as such, does not cause or contribute to the rapid spikes in blood sugar that are so dangerous to diabetics

Where can you get this fibre from?

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The best approach is to get dietary fibre from both soluble and insoluble sources, so that you have a good “mix” in your system.  Please always consult a professional before making any changes to your diet, as a sudden increase in fibre can cause painful gas and bloating.  It is best to slowly increase your dietary fibre until you are at the recommended level.*

I hope you enjoyed today’s lesson on fibre, please comment or email with any questions you might have, or suggestions on what you would like to read about next time on Health from the inside out!

*Please note that I am not yet a licensed practitioner, and as such cannot give anyone information about dosages or quantities.  Feel free to contact me however, and I will work with you to find a practitioner in your area.

P.S. You may notice a few changes around here over the next few days, but only for the good, I promise!  Take a look at my Facebook Page for updates!