Dietary fibers

THE HEALTH’S SECRET WEAPON

By Winter Sozinyo

We all agree that despite advancement in science and technology, our generation is still being hit with myriads of diseases including non-communicable ones. Non communicable diseases are not caused by any infection but come as a result of lifestyle factors resulting in long-term health consequences and often create a need for long-term treatment and care. Examples are; diabetes, cancer and many others. Diabetes in Malawi is common among adults; while Obesity is high among females than men. Lack of dietary fiber in our diet is one of the leading factors for non-communicable diseases. Dr Youngberg describes dietary fiber as a “health secret weapon” without which we face a lot of health challenges. Malawi has a lot of natural foods packed with dietary fibers and antioxidants, sadly most people both in rural and urban areas do not eat enough of it per day.

What Is Dietary Fiber?

It is the residue of plant food that is resistant to being broken down into nutrient molecules by human digestive enzymes and have physiological benefit. Fiber can be soluble in water or not. Soluble fiber is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots and barley while sources of insoluble fibers include wheat and bananas. We need to consume both

“Lack of dietary fiber in our diet is one of the leading factors for noncommunicable diseases

soluble and insoluble fibers. As fiber moves down the digestive tract, it acts as a mopper sweeping along all the debris that clogs the digestive tract. In this way the digestive system is kept clean.

Importances of Dietary Fiber to the body

Fiber is Hygroscopic thus prevents constipation and cancer. Hygroscopic is the ability of dietary fiber to retain water in the digestive tract. It holds water in the feaces making it soft, bulky and easy to be propelled forward. People who consume foods high in dietary fiber produce bulky feaces that float in water and they have a short transit time. Transit time is the period taken from the time food is eaten to the time it is passed out as feaces. Cancerous cells and many diseases are easily born in the digestive tract if the food residues are staying longer.

The digestive tract is full of microbes that are beneficial to the body. They fight off other

microbes that have potential of causing disease. It has been noted that for those people who eat high fiber foods they have a diverse microbiota that protect them from potential diseases than those who do not.

Dietary fiber also speeds up the rate of digestion. When we swallow our foods, it goes into the stomach where it is broken down into smaller particles. The duration of this process varies depending with the amount of fiber in the food

The health implication of this phenomenon is that people with peptic ulcers or gastritis should eat high fiber foods such as vegetables and whole grain. This will help them relieve symptoms and in the long run reverse the disease. This is because the high fiber in the food reduces hydrochloric acid needed for digestion

Dietary f i b e r s Stabilizes blood sugars levels by slowing down absorption from the digestive tract. This process slows down the absorption of glucose into the blood thereby maintain blood glucose levels within acceptable levels. This is why diabetic and even health people need to eat high fiber foods.

Studies have also shown that dietary fiber helps reduce cholesterol in the body. Cholesterol is good in the body only if you have it in normal levels. When you eat foods high in cholesterol, the extra one is deposited in the blood vessels causing atherosclerosis that lays a foundation to so many heart diseases. Now cholesterol is used by the liver cells to manufacture bile which is used in fat digestion. When you consistently consume foods rich in fibers, the fiber holds and sweeps out all the bile in the digestive tract, then in reaction the liver converts the cholesterol into bile to replace the one being lost in feaces. In this way cholesterol levels are kept in check.

Dietary fiber also regulates your behavior!. The trillions of microbes that live in your gut also make neurotransmitters that are used by the brain. One example is serotonin which

controls mood and other chemicals that affect how your brain works. Your gut microbes digest the fibers present in the food and produce lots of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) such as butyrate, propionate and acetate that brings about temperance or self-control. Because physiology neurotransmitters determine our behavior, it is logical to say that we are what we eat. If you are struggling with self-control, just try eating lots of fibers then your gut microbes are going to use that to manufacture temperance neurotransmitters that will calm down your behavior. Fiber helps one to lose weight. The presence of fiber in the foods accomplish two critical factors in weight management. Firstly, it prevents us from overeating. Since our enzymes “ people with peptic ulcers or gastritis cannot digest the fiber molecule should eat high fiber foods such as chain, they vegetables and whole grain. This will stretch the walls of the help them relieve symptoms... stomach thereby sending signals to the brain that you have eaten enough. This explains why you easily get full when you eat cooked cassava than when you eat snack. Secondly, it reduces caloric density in the food. There is a ratio of calories to nutrients. If the food has more calories than nutrients it will lead to weight gain as is the case with all processed foods. But if the calories are less than nutrients spectrum, it will lead to weight reduction as is the case with dietary fibers.

How Much Fiber Do We Need Per Day

We need about 35 to 50 gram of fiber per day. However different foods have different quantities of fibers in them. Therefore, you need proper selection of foods to eat in your typical day in order to reach this required amount. Dr Youngberg classify foods into three categories, first to third class foods. I will start with third class foods. These are animalbased foods such as white or red meat, local or hybrid chicken, local or hybrid eggs, any fish, milk, cheese, etc. They have no fiber at all. They have more spiking calories but less nutrients.

Second class foods such as processed whole grains (e.g. ufa woyera or grind meal), canned fruits, fruit juices, vegetable oils, soy milk (and other nut milks), yogurt, white bread etc. They have a substantially reduced amount of fiber if any. Processing removes fibers. The American journal of clinical nutrition puts it in this way. “The resulting refined-grain products contain more starch but lose a substantial amount of dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, and phytochemicals. Because of loss of the bran and pulverization of the endosperm, refined grains are digested and absorbed more rapidly than whole-grain products and tend to cause more rapid and larger increases in concentrations of blood glucose and insulin”.

First class foods are plant-based foods that have been eaten whole. The table below summarizes different first-class foods and quantity of fibers they contain.

Meal planning and selection of food in a typical day is one of the crucial secrets that can help one achieve the required quantity of dietary fibers. Generally, choose to eat more of non-processed plant-based foods with a plan to eat more foods in the morning and lunch but little in the evening. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a queen, and supper like a beggar!

This is why one inspired writer puts it this way; “Grains, fruits, nuts, and vegetables constitute the diet chosen for us by our Creator. These foods, prepared in as simple and natural a manner as possible, are the most healthful and nourishing. They impart a strength, a power of endurance and a vigor of intellect, that are not afforded by a more complex and stimulating diet. -CD 363.1

The Bible agrees with her, Genesis 1:29 (NIV) “Then God said, ‘I give you every seedbearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food”. Today, choose to eat high fiber foods for your health depends on the simple daily choices you make.

References 1. GOODBYE DIABETES , by Dr Wes Youngberg 2. American journal of clinical nutrition September 2003 vol. 78 no. 3 544S-551S 3. White E.G. Counsels on diet and foods p.363 4. Gowshall M, Taylor-Robinson SD. The increasing prevalence of non-communicable diseases in low-middle income countries: the view from Malawi. International Journal of General Medicine. 2018; 11:255-264 https:// doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S157987 5. Msyamboza, K.P., Mvula, C.J. & Kathyola, D. Prevalence and correlates of diabetes mellitus in Malawi: population-based national NCD STEPS survey. BMC Endocr Disord 14, 41 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6823-1441 6. Zheng, Y., Ley, S. & Hu, F. Global aetiology and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 88–98 (2018). 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/ nrendo.2017.151