Food that contains plenty of roughage is good for health
It is said that the best and most durable of gold ornaments are made with a small percentage of other suitable metals, also known as impurities. Similarly, having nutrients alone is not enough to ensure the best of health. One needs some percentage of “impurities” along with nutrients. These are also known as “roughage” or “fibre” in a dietician’s notebook. Research has proved that fibre in foods is important to health.
Fibre is that part of fruits, vegetables and grains that is neither digested nor absorbed by the body. Then the question is why should fibre matter for good nutrition, since it doesn’t provide any calories or nutrients?
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Fibre helps keep your intestines working comfortably and prevent many diseases. Let’s understand “fibre” first. Fibre comes in two forms, soluble and insoluble.
Photo: N. Sridharan
Watching your weight? Eat more of fibre-rich greens and fruits
Soluble fibre acts like a sponge; insoluble fibre acts like a broom. Soluble fibre is found in dried beans and peas, oat bran, rice bran, barley and fruit pectin. It absorbs water in the intestines, mixes the food into a gel, and thereby slows the rate of glucose digestion and its consequent absorption into the bloodstream.
Insoluble fibres are the stringy stuff that holds plants together. It’s called “insoluble” because it doesn’t dissolve in water. It can be found mainly in plant leaves, peels, skins and the coverings of whole grains. Insoluble fibre can absorb many times its own weight in water.
Fibres are filling without being fattening. High fibre foods require more chewing, and the prolonged chewing, besides pre-digesting the food, satisfies the appetite, so you eat less. Fibre stays in the stomach longer, absorbs water, swells, and helps the eater feel full. Because of this feeling of fullness, people on high fibre diets tend to eat slowly and eat less, especially less fat. Best fibres for weight control are bran and the pectin from fruits.
Fibre may also slow down the absorption of fat from what you eat. This is another weight-control perk offered by a high-fibre diet.
High fibre diets are usually low in fat, too, and the cholesterol-lowering effects may be related to less fat in the diet as well as to fibre. Insoluble fibres help prevent constipation; their sponge effect absorbs a lot of water, this is its broom effect.
While soluble fibre helps protect against cardiovascular diseases, insoluble fibre protects against colon cancer.
Fibre is also valuable for school-age children, mainly because it delays the absorption of sugars from the food into the bloodstream, making the blood sugars more stable — and, consequently, making children better behaved.
Here are some simple ways to increase your daily fibre intake. Consume whole fruits and vegetables instead of juice. Cut back on refined foods. Snack on dried fruits such as apricots, figs, prunes and raisins. Use whole grains. Be a bean freak as nearly all varieties of beans are a rich source of fibre, especially kidney beans. Choose spinach and lettuce. Fresh fruits have more fibre than canned fruits because much of the fibre is in the peel, which is usually removed in processing.
Simplifying it, eat grains, fresh fruits and vegetables and your diet will automatically get you enough fibre.
RAKESH KUMAR
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