Fiber is a critical component of overall health. There are so many benefits to including adequate fiber in your diet, including:
Fiber acts like a broom, helping to sweep toxins out of your body.
Fiber helps with elimination and prevents constipation.
Lowers incidence of many chronic diseases.
A high soluble-fiber diet can help reduce your risk of premature death from any cause including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer.
It helps regulate immune function.
Fiber slows the digestion of your meals helping you feel fuller faster and longer and lowering the glycemic load of your meal thus helping with weight loss.
The diversity of the bacteria in your gut have been found to be instrumental in whether you maintain a healthy weight or are unable to.
Well here’s yet another reason to make sure you get fiber every day:
Low fiber diets were found to cause the good bacteria in your gut to die off, but not just in your body. This unhealthy change was found to pass on to future generations! You may not care so much about your own health. I would hope you do but many people don’t seem to. I hope knowing your choices today can be passed on to your children and grandchildren would shake you awake! Why should they pay for your mistakes?
Do you intentionally include fiber in your daily diet plan?
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3-D Vitality 
How sobering to think our lack of good dietary habits affects the health of our children. But of course, why wouldn’t it? Thanks for another great post!
Thanks Debbie. We are all so closely interwoven that whatever we do never just impacts us alone.
I had no idea we can pass along our bad habits just from our body. Thanks for pointing that out Ann. What are your favorite sources of soluble-fiber?
Thank you for the question, Erin. Soluble fiber is the type found in things like beans, lentils, lima beans, peas and particularly black, kidney and navy beans which are especially high in soluble fiber; oatmeal, barley and oat bran are good sources; all veggies and fruits have fiber, vitamins, minerals and water – but some of the best sources are Brussels sprouts, turnips, artichokes, broccoli, sweet potatoes and asparagus; most seeds and nuts have insoluble fiber as does brown rice, but flax seeds are a good source of soluble fiber. Apples, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries are also good soluble fiber sources. Just be sure to buy organic since especially in the apples the nutrients and fiber are in the skin or just under it. Soluble fiber is the type that turns to a gel in your stomach and slows digestion, lowers cholesterol and blood sugar. Insoluble fiber is isn’t changed by digestion and is what helps keep your bowel movements bulked and easy to pass. Neither type of fiber is actually absorbed by your body – and both are important for good health – so you need both. Two of my favorites which I include in smoothies daily are chia and hemp seeds – which have both soluble and insoluble fiber as well as healthy fats and protein. I don’t know of any insoluble fiber to avoid. I hope that answered your question.
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