Fiber for a healthy body
Fiber became a household word back in 1970s when Dr. Denis Burkitt, a man nicknamed the Fiber Man, and his colleagues made "the fiber hypothesis" that states that fiber can prevent certain diseases.
A variety of definitions of fiber exist:

  - Dietary fiber consists of no digestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants. This includes plant no starch polysaccharides (for example, cellulose, pectin, gums, hemicelluloses, and fibers contained in oat and wheat bran), oligosaccharides, lignin, and some resistant starch.

  - Functional fiber consists of isolated, no digestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans. This includes no digestible plant (for example, resistant starch, pectin, and gums), chitin, chitosan, or commercially produced (for example, resistant starch, polydextrose, inulin, and indigestible dextrins) carbohydrates.

  -Total fiber is the sum of dietary fiber and functional fiber. It's not important to differentiate between which forms of each of these fibers you are getting in your diet. Your total fiber is what matters.

Fiber is an essential part of everyone's diet. While fiber does fall under the category of carbohydrates, in comparison, it does not provide the same number of calories, nor is it processed the way that other sources of carbohydrates are.
This difference can be seen among the two categories that fiber is divided into: soluble and insoluble.

Dietary fiber is found only in plant food and is the "indigestible" part of the plant. There are 2
types of fiber - soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is beneficial at lowering cholesterol levels. Sources include fruits, vegetables, especially apples, oranges, carrots, oat bran, barley, and beans. Insoluble fiber tends to increase the bulk of food and helps speed the passage of food through the digestive tract. Sources include fruits with edible skins, whole grains and breads, and whole grain cereals. 25-30 grams of fiber per day is recommended.
Most Americans only get 10-15 grams of fiber per day. Being "indigestible," fiber itself contains no calories. A diet rich in fiber is associated with a variety of health benefits such as decreased cholesterol, decreased risk for some types of cancer, especially colon cancer (the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States).
Fiber can also assist with weight loss by providing bulk to the diet and allowing you to get the
satisfaction of chewing and the feeling of fullness. Also, it is believed that if you are eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, you will be eating less high fat, calorically dense foods.
In a recent study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 43,000 men were
studied over a 6 year period to determine the effects of a high fiber intake and the risk of coronary heart disease. The results were dramatic. There was a 29 percent reduction in coronary heart disease for every 10-gram increase in cereal fiber. Although it has been well documented that soluble fiber (the type found in fruits, vegetables, and oats) reduces risk of heart disease by cholesterol reduction, this study shows that insoluble fiber (found in breakfast cereals and wheat bread) can have the same positive health benefits.
The good news is that increasing fiber is so easy. Start each day with a high fiber breakfast cereal. Look on the label fiber content. You want a minimum of 2 grams of dietary fiber per serving. Refined, sugary breakfast cereals usually contain no dietary fiber, and some are so sweet, they could be considered "candy in milk." Fiber-rich cereals range from 2 grams of fiber to 16 grams of more per serving. Go easy when increasing your fiber intake. Complaints of abdominal discomfort are common with drastic changes in fiber intake. Increase gradually; include a 2 gram per serving cereal and advance to the 7 to 8 gram per serving cereals over time.
   Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance. Sources of soluble fiber are oats, legumes (beans, peas, and soybeans), apples, bananas, berries, barely, some vegetables, and psylluim.
    Insoluble fiber increases the movement of material through your digestive tract and increases your stool bulk. Sources of insoluble fiber are whole wheat foods, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skin of some fruits and vegetables.
An average diet contains 75% insoluble fiber and 25% soluble fiber. When making a food choice decision, don't worry about choosing a specific type of fiber.

Benefits of a high-fiber diet

A high-fiber diet has many benefits, which include:
   Prevents constipation. Dietary fiber increases the weight and size of your stool and softens it. A bulky stool is easier to pass, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have loose, watery stools, fiber may also help to solidify the stool because it absorbs water and adds bulk to stool.
    Low ers your risk of digestive conditions. A high-fiber diet may lower your risk of specific disorders, such as hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and the development of small pouches in your colon (diverticular disease).
    Lowers blood cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber found in beans, oats, flaxseed and oat bran may help lower total blood cholesterol levels by lowering low-density lipoprotein, or "bad," cholesterol levels.
    Controls blood sugar levels. Fiber, particularly soluble fiber, can slow the absorption of sugar, which for people with diabetes, can help improve blood sugar levels. A high-fiber diet may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
    Aids in weight loss. High-fiber foods generally require more chewing time, which gives your body time to register when you're no longer hungry, so you're less likely to overeat. Also, a high-fiber diet tends to make a meal feel larger and linger longer, so you stay full for a greater amount of time. And high-fiber diets also tend to be less "energy dense," which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.
    Uncertain effect on colorectal cancer. Evidence that dietary fiber reduces colorectal cancer is mixed — some studies show benefit, some show nothing and even some show greater risk. If you're concerned about preventing colorectal cancer, adopt or stick with a colon cancer screening regimen. Regular testing for and removal of colon polyps can prevent colon cancer.

Fiber and cancer

For many years, scientists have studied countries where the typical diet is higher in fiber and lower in fat than in United States. People in this countries have a lower incidence of heart disease and certain cancers. One such cancer is colorectal cancer.
Because dietary fiber bulks up the stool and speeds elimination of waste from the body, common sense led researchers to explore the link between fiber and a lower risk for colon cancer.

To test this theory about fiber and colon cancer, scientists have often extracted large amounts of fiber from food and led it to people as a supplement to their diets.

Vegetables and Fruits Prove Effective

But what about eating whole foods that are rich in fiber? The majority of evidence suggests that fiber-rich foods can help prevent colorectal cancer.
The AICR (American Institute for Cancer Research) panel of experts also reviewed 26 studies on the link between vegetables, which are rich in fiber, and colorectal cancer. Twenty-one of them showed a positive relationship. After carefully weighing all the available research, these scientists concluded, "Evidence that diets rich in vegetables protect against cancers of the colon and rectum is convincing."
This conclusion is not surprising. In additional to fiber, vegetables offer vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals-naturallyoccurring "plant chemicals" that work to lower cancer risk in many ways. Scientists believe the anti-cancer power of fiber working with these substances is much greater than any one of them acting alone.

The benefits of eating a diet high in fiber.
Eating more fiber-rich foods may protect you from some forms of cancer and may significantly reduce your risk of heart disease, adult-onset diabetes and obesity.
Getting enough fiber also helps many common conditions related to colon function, including constipation hemorrhoids and diverticulosis.

The best sources of dietary fiber.
Food that come from plants, including vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans are sources of dietary fiber. Animal products, such as meat, cheese and eggs, don't contain any fiber.
Some people, because of age or illness, find that they cannot comfortably digest high-fiber food. If this is the case for you, speak with your physician or a registered dietitian about alternatives.

How much dietary fiber should i eat?
Nutrition expert suggest that male adult 50 years and younger eat 38 grams of fiber each day, and women that age eat 35. Men over 50 need 30 grams and women 21 grams per day. But there's no need to count. If you eat the recommended minimum of five servings of fruits and vegetables each day, as well as seven serving of whole grains and beans, you'll be getting enough fiber. And it's not as difficult as you might think.
A serving of fruits or vegetables is equal to just one apple or peach, one-half cup of pineapple chunks, one-half cup of chopped broccoli or one-quarter cup of raisins. Servings of grants and beans add up even faster. The two slices of whole grain bread on a sandwich equal two servings, as does a cup of brown rice or pasta. A cup of beans equals two servings. Your morning bowl of oatmeal probably contains two or more servings.
To add more fiber to your diet, cut back on pastries and choose fruit for dessert and snacks. Reduce meat servings and add more vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans to every meal.   

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