Importance of fiber in our diet

Fiber may prevent constipation or diarrhea.

How?

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables (f/v), and grains. As a rule of thumb, soluble fiber is found in mushy parts of f/v, and insoluble fiber is found in skins of f/v, legumes, peas, or in hard course particles of grains. Our body cannot digest fiber, so it cannot be absorbed into our blood. However, fiber is very important for our overall health. Soluble fiber attracts water in our intestine during the digestive process and slows down the transit time, thus preventing diarrhea. Transit time is the movement of food from the point of ingestion of food to its excretion. Insoluble fiber does not attract water in our intestine, thus speeds up the transit time; this way prevents constipation. Another critical function of fiber is that it feeds the bacteria that reside in our large intestine, the colon. When bacteria ferment fiber, it produces butyric acid that energizes our enterocytes which are responsible for nutrient absorption..