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Show Spread Fiber 'Feast' Around By Dale Nelson, Professor Health, Physical Education & Recreation Utah State University The next time you consider fiber in your diet, remember that you need to spread your fiber feasting around if you want to obtain all of its health benefits. You won't do it by eating bran alone. Bran is great for keeping you regular, but it won't do everything fiber is supposed to do to keep you healthy. For example, one study reported in the Journal fo the American Medial Associaton, Janaury 4, 1980, showed that a steady intake of bran increaed stool weight by 117 percent, In the same study, pectin, a fiber in apples and citrus fruits, increaed stool weight by only Vi percent. Pectin, on the other hand, can be healthful in other ways. A study done in England and reported in American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December, 1979 tells us how. When the effects of various forms of fiber were researched it was found that a concentrated pectin exctractor did more to lower cholesterol than carrots, cabbage or bran. More Examples Researchers at the Human Nutrition Laboratory in Grand Forks, North Dakota looked at how fiber Intake J affects the digestion of sugar. Incidently, many scientists believe that an adequate intake of fiber helps regulate the metabolism of carbohydrates. The people in Grand Forks fed 15 men either wheat bran, soft white wheat, corn bran, soy hulls, freeze-dried apple powder of freeze-dried carrot powder for a month along with other foods and then tested each one's glucose tolerance. The apple powder and the carrot powder worked best for carbohydrate metabolism. All of the fiber, with the exception ot the wheat bran and the soft white wheat, improved carbohydrate handling. Animal Studies Another experiment looked at rats fed a diet of either alfalfa, pectin or wheat bran. All of the rats were then injected with a chemical known to cause colon cancer in rats. The alfalfa had no effect on colon tumors, but the pectin and wheat bran "greatly inhibited" these growths. Don't be discouraged. This doesn't mean you have to give up your alfalfa sprouts, it just means that alfalfa has other functions. Now, what the bottom line really means is that you need a wide variety of fresh (raw) fruits, vegetables and whole grains. That's what nutritionists , have been saying all along: This is just another reason why. |
