Fibers are considered an important part of our daily diet. Yet, there are no nutrients taken into our bodies from fiber, and fiber content is not even digestible. So what’s the point?

Fiber functions primarily to ensure proper and complete digestion of the nutrients from our food and most importantly to eliminate the waste from our digestive process. Most AMA doctors consider one bowel movement (BM) per day optimum, with two or three per week marginally okay.

But Western holistic practitioners, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Ayurveda, and the Weston A. Price Foundation all have a different standard than mainstream medicine. They consider two to three BMs per day optimum.

But that’s not all. Fiber helps slow digestion and prevent blood sugar spikes and help prevent diabetes. Soluble fiber especially offers prebiotic functions to help intestinal probiotics flourish. Obstructing LDL or “bad cholesterol” absorption is also a fiber function.

Not everyone is currently convinced of the idea that bad cholesterol is the major source of bad heart health. But those who have bought into it claim this is how fiber enhances heart health.

Cooked meats and processed flour foods have no or low fiber contents. These are basic SAD foods. High fiber foods are unprocessed plant-based foods that host either soluble or insoluble fibers.

Soluble fibers tend to be high in starchier foods. They dissolve in water to form a gel. This gel has a more gentle action in the digestive system than the harsher insoluble fibers that are more like brushes in the gut. Soluble fibers also help maintain probiotic gut populations.

They are both important. Nevertheless, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) victims especially need to focus more on soluble fibers or eating them before eating insoluble fiber foods. Example: A rice or potato dominated main dish (soluble fibers) followed by the insoluble raw salad instead of the customary salad starter.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040080_digestion_high_fiber_foods.html#ixzz2Ra4AKMuR