A fiber diet contains foods that have a lot of fiber. High fiber diet has many health benefits. High fiber diet is recommended in the treatment of digestive problems such as diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Eating high fiber foods helps in proper digestion also helps in absorption of nutrients. When you eat the diet rich in fiber the daily intake of water should be adequate as liquids help your body to digest fiber. Recommendations for adults are between 25 and 40 grams per day. Dietary fiber adds bulk to your diet.

Health benefits of high fiber:

• A diet rich in fiber controls Diabetes by maintaining the blood glucose levels. It actually slows down the digestion and it doesn’t raise the blood sugar levels too fast. It takes more time than it takes time when the food does not contain fiber. As the glucose is not released into blood too fast, pancreas doesn’t secrete insulin too fast and blood sugars are in control.
• High fiber diet protects against colon cancer.
• A diet rich in fiber lowers cholesterol levels. Fiber absorbs the water as it moves through digestive tract. And this increases the stool bulk, which causes the intestine to pass them more quickly. As the stool passes more quickly there is less chance for any harmful substances they contain to harm the cells lining the intestine. Fiber also helps as it traps cancer causing agents in colon.
• It improves bowel regularity.
• It increases satiety and controls appetite.
• It also enhances immune system.
• Prolonged contraction of the colon may result in diverticulitis. This increase in pressure cause small and larger ballooning pockets to form. Usually this doesn’t cause any problems. But sometimes they can become infected or also cause inflammation when the pockets are perforated. As the diet rich in fiber increases bulk in the stool and this reduces the pressure in the colon. And so the formation of pockets is stopped.
• Fiber helps in treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. The increased amounts of fiber in diet produces soft and bulky stools. But IBS patients should be careful in selecting the amount and type of fiber. The reason is that the increased amount of soluble fiber may cause health benefit by growing the good bacteria, if too much of soluble fiber is consumed intestinal gas can occur.
• High fiber diet lowers the risk of heart disease and controls the cholesterol levels and triglycerides.
• High fiber diet is good weight management.

TIPS TO INCREASE FIBER IN YOU DIET:

• Eat Fruits with skin instead of fruit juices.
• Do not sieve whole wheat flour while you prepare rotis.
• Instead of white rice choose brown rice.
• Choose complex carbohydrates than simple sugars like whole grain cereals, whole grain breads.
• Eat the skin on baked or mashed potatoes.
• Eat unrefined foods.

Food sources: Excellent sources:

• Horse gram
• Rajmah
• Dry peas
• Drum sticks
• Drum stick leaves
• Curry leaves
• Fenu greek leaves
• Colocasia leaves
• Broccoli
• Turnip greens
• Mustard greens
• Rasberries
• Red gram dal

Very good sources:

• Ragi
• Bengal gram ,whole
• Barley
• Soya bean
• Double beans
• Flax seed
• Green gram, whole
• Straw berries
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Cranberries
• Celery
• Fennel
• Cow pea
• Cluster beans

Good sources:

• Jowar
• Whole wheat flour
• Maize, dry
• Bitter gourd
• Field beans
• Amaranth
• Tamrind leaves
• Carrot
• Sweet potato
• Mango ginger
• Radish
• Capsicum
• Cucumber
• Apricots
• Oats
• Mushrooms
• Rye
• Grapes