6 Healthy Reasons That You Should Eat More Fiber

Fiber is an excellent nutrient that plays an important part of a healthy diet. It is classified into two types: soluble and insoluble fiber. This nutrient can be found in many foods, including Leafy green vegetables, whole grains, wheat bran, citrus fruits, bananas, apples, legumes, oats and barley. Plus, it offer a lot of healthy benefits that make you want to add it to your diet.

Following are 5 reasons why you should eat more fiber.

1. Keep your heart healthy 

Consuming a diet rich in soluble fiber keeps your heart healthy. It helps reduce the bad cholesterol while keeping your LDL levels in a healthy range. It also helps reduce blood pressure and disease-promoting inflammation, which contributes to the significantly lower risk of cardiovascular disease. You can find soluble fiber in peas, beans, oats or citrus fruits, and insoluble fiber in cruciferous vegetables, wheat bran, whole grains and carrots.

2. Control your weight

Foods rich in fiber make you feel fuller more easily, so they help you avoid overeating and fill you up with fewer calories. A part from being lower in calories than refined foods, they are packed with a lot of nutrients, including antioxidants. Therefore, a diet rich in high-fiber foods can help you lose weight in a healthy manner.

3. Relieve constipation

A fiber rich diet can prevent constipation. It influences stool consistency and increases stool bulk, making the stool softer.

4. Reduce cancer risk

A lot of fiber in your regular diet has the potential to reduce the risk of certain cancers such as breast cancer, colon cancer, esophagus cancer and ovarian cancer stomach. Besides, foods high in fiber like fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants that help fight cancer.

5. Benefit the digestive system

Fiber benefits the digestive system as it whisks toxins through your body. When you eat a lot of fiber, you will feel light because digestion is quick. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, regular consumption of fiber may help reduce your chances of getting certain gastrointestinal disorders such as diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and irritable bowel syndrome.

6. Lengthen your life

Another surprising health benefit of fiber is that it can lengthen your life. That is because of its anti-inflammatory properties. According to the National Cancer Institute, women who consume 26 grams of fiber a day and men who consume 29 grams of fiber per day might lower the risk of early death from any cause by 22 per cent.