Fiber and Your Digestive System

Fiber is important but just how important?

Our digestive system is where the food we consume is broken into nutrients that later on, our body uses to cover its needs. In order to keep it healthy and working properly, we have to take good care of our digestive system through our diet and lifestyle.

In the following article, you will find ways to keep your digestive system working smoothly and healthy habits you can incorporate in your day-to-day life in order to maintain it healthy.

Introduce more fiber into your diet

According to nutritionists and dietitians just by increasing foods that are high in fiber such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains you can improve your digestive health since a diet rich in fiber can help you prevent serious digestive conditions like diverticulosis, hemorrhoids, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Additionally, it keeps the food moving through your digestive tract and helps you maintain a healthy weight.

Include both soluble and insoluble fiber in your diet.

With the term dietary fiber, we refer to the combination of both soluble and insoluble fiber. The difference between the two is that soluble fiber dissolves in water and insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water.

Soluble fiber food sources: fruits, oats, legumes, and barley.

Insoluble fiber food sources: wheat, vegetables, and seeds.

Both types of fiber are important for our diet since each one of them has benefits for our nutrition. Soluble fiber helps us to improve digestion and lower our blood sugar levels, while insoluble fiber can soften our stool, making it easier to pass.

Add healthy fats and lean protein to your diet

Adequate fat intake improves the absorption of certain fat-soluble nutrients, while healthy fats, especially omega-3 fatty acids can help to reduce inflammation and prevent inflammatory bowel diseases.

Protein is an essential part of a healthy diet however meats that are higher in unhealthy fat content can cause discomfort. Lean protein like poultry and fish in combination with high fiber vegetables and whole grains is a great choice for your meals.

Good hydration is necessary

Drinking enough water during the day is one of the most important factors of a healthy digestive system. Apart from water, we can always hydrate ourselves by consuming fruits and vegetables with high water content, soups, broths, teas, herbal infusions and natural juices.

Low fluid intake is one of the most common causes of constipation, so it is recommended to drink at least 2 liters of water every day. People who live in warm climates or exercise regularly are losing more body fluids meaning that they have higher rehydration needs.

Incorporate probiotics into your diet

Probiotics are good bacteria that help you improve your digestive health. You can consume probiotics through supplements but there are also plenty of foods that contain a good amount of probiotics. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha but also yogurt are rich in healthy probiotics that assist in digestion and prevent bloating. To learn more about food and nutrition and how it effects your health and weight loss from WeightLoss-Solutions.com. We will get you feeling great again.