How Your Heart Benefits from a High Fiber Diet
Spreading the word about steps we can take to protect our heart health can only benefit us in the long run. Whether you opt to help your community or focus on your own home, protecting heart health is a goal worthy of pursuing.
One of the things your heart will be grateful for is a high fiber diet. Eating a lot of fiber has many proven health benefits, and it’s not difficult to incorporate it into your diet, either! Here’s everything you need to know about the high fiber diet and how your heart benefits from it:
Dietary Fiber — What Is It?
Before we can look for fiber in our food, we need to know what it is. By its structure, fiber is a carbohydrate, and its defining characteristic is that it passes through the body without being digested. The central division of fiber is the relation to dietary or functional fiber. This definition refers to the origins of the fiber: dietary fiber is found in food, while functional fiber mostly comes from supplements or foods that have been enriched with fiber.
Some of the foods rich in fiber are whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and beans. According to the recommendations of the Institute of Medicine, men up to 50 years of age should eat 38 grams of fiber per day, while that number for women is 25 grams. However, the statistics show that the average daily fiber intake in America is around 16 grams. It suggests there’s room for improvement, especially when it comes to improving heart health through diet.
How Fiber Benefits the Heart
One of the main ways in which fiber benefits heart health is by lowering cholesterol. Both LDL (which is known as “bad” cholesterol) and overall cholesterol can be brought down by a fiber-rich diet. The exact way fiber makes this possible is still unknown, but the assumption is that fiber binds to cholesterol particles and escorts them out of the body. In combination with healthy natural supplements that fight high cholesterol, fiber can be especially effective.
Other ways in which fiber contributes to heart health have to do with blood pressure and diabetes. Diet rich in fiber lowers the risk of a stroke by 36%, and type 2 diabetes by 30%. Eating a lot of fiber also promotes weight loss and reduces blood pressure, so it effectively deals with all factors connected to heart disease. The standing conclusion of the scientists is that a high fiber diet will help you live longer and remain healthy.
Even though a high-fiber diet has many health benefits, it’s always a good idea to consult with your doctor before changing your diet significantly. If you have to keep your cholesterol levels in check and you’re worried a change in diet won’t be enough, taking natural supplements to fight high cholesterol might help.
If you want to learn more about cholesterol, visit cholesterade.com.
