How Exactly Does Fiber Help Your Health?

When you go to the doctor does he/she ask you about how much fiber you are getting? It seems that fiber is being discussed as a possible solution to everything, including the ozone layer. Okay, maybe not the ozone problem, but it is looking like if you get enough fiber in your diet, your chances reduce dramatically of acquiring many diseases you could be susceptible to as you get older.

What exactly does fiber help to prevent? Studies have shown that a diet with plenty of fiber in it can reduce the chances of heart disease (by cutting cholesterol), diabetes (by slowing the release of sugars from foods into the blood), diverticulosis, and other diseases. The thought that it helps prevent cancer are conflicting, but by eating the foods you need to acquire fiber (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) you also get a lot of vitamins and minerals that are very beneficial to the body. Bonus, baby!!!

Basically, what fiber does is go through the intestines and pick up all the wastes and toxins along the way. It passes through quickly and doesn