15 Health Benefits of Fiber ( +15 Best High Fiber Foods)

Fiber, or rather dietary fiber, comprises the parts of plant foods that the body can neither digest nor absorb. It is also known as roughage or bulk and unlike the rest of the food components such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, the dietary fiber is not broken down or absorbed by the body. Instead, it passes through the stomach, small intestines, colon and finally out of your body in a relatively intact state. It is found mainly in fruits, legumes, leafy green vegetables and whole grains.

Dietary fiber is found in two forms: soluble dietary fiber and insoluble dietary fiber. Soluble fiber usually forms a gel-like substance which slows down the passage of food through the digestive tract to allow proper absorption of nutrients by dissolving in the water in the body’s digestive system. Insoluble fiber acts as bulk in the food by encouraging the food to pass more quickly through the digestive tract. Dietary fiber has a lot of health benefits some of which will be focused on below.

Health Benefits of Fiber

1.      All Natural Detox

With dietary fiber in your diet, you do not need to worry about a juice cleanse anymore. The dietary fiber is a natural detoxifier which scrubs and gets rid of toxins from the gastrointestinal tract. The soluble fiber does this by soaking up the compounds which are potentially harmful like the unhealthy fats and excess estrogen before the body absorbs them. The insoluble fiber lessens the amount of time that the harmful chemicals like mercury, BPA, and pesticides are in contact with the intestines by passing them through the digestive tract quickly.

Bottom Line: Dietary fiber helps to get rid of toxic compounds in the food in a natural manner with the soluble and the insoluble fiber each playing different roles towards that.