Nutritional information on Fiber
A very important ingredient consumed unknowingly by those of lesser developed nations is fiber. Fiber according to the Foods and Nutrition Encyclopedia, First Edition, Volume 1 - "Fiber included cellulose, hemicelluloses, vegetable gumes, mucilages, pectin and lignin. These substances are poorly digested by humans and have little nutritional value. However, they appear to have important physiological effects in the digestive tract; hence the term "non-nutritive fiber". Other terms used to disignate fiber are "crude fiber", "unavailable carbohydrates", "bulk", "roughage", and "undigestible residue".
It appears that the major factor in the diet found in rural Africa and not found in any significant quantity in the average American Diet is fiber. The diet of the average American is ten times higher in sugar, four times higher in fat, and mostly from animal fat compared to a four times lower intake, and of that, the majority is vegetable fats.
Why is such an insignificant non-nutritive factor so vital to our health?
There is enough evidence available today that strongly suggests that fats and animal proteins increase the risk of bowel cancer, and fiber may very well protect the bowel against the development of cancer. Fats and animal proteins may be the causative factor while fiber is the protective factor.
Constipation is another health problem directly related to a lack of bulk or fiber, and it is this condition that increases the risk of cancer. A normal functioning bowel and eliminating system will excrete the waste material in approximately 24 to 36 hour, that is in the presence of high fiber diet. Although an individual may have a bowel elimination daily, the waste material eliminated on that day has been delayed for too long, allowing the toxic elements and chemicals of decomposition to be in contact with the lining of the colon, causing excessive irritation. Fat also increases the amount of bile salts in the colon, the bacteria of the colon will then convert the bile into substances that are similar chemically to cancer causing substances. The more fat in the diet, the more bile produced, increasing the risk of cancer.
Not everyone can or will make the necessary dietary changes to ensure the diet is adequately sufficient in fiber. For whatever reason it is not possible to make these changes, it is still vital to increase the total fiber daily volume.
Fiber can also help you to lose weight and keep slim! High fiber foods are somewhat self-limiting, in other words, foods with fiber are more filling, therefore less calories are consumed. Sugar and fats contain no fiber, so it is easy to overeat because they are not filling. Also with sugar, the calories are completely absorbed and quickly burned as fuel (quick energy) and more must be consumed to keep going adding additional calories.
High fiber reduces the volume of food eaten, therefore less calories are consumed, but it prevents some of those calories from being absorbed because they are encased in fibrous material and must be digested to make those calories available. This also decreases the amount of calories by 1-2 %. 100% of the calories in sugar is available immediately. Therefore, less fiber -- more calories, more fiber -- less calories. To add fiber to a weight loss program mix 1 tablespoon of the fiber mixture to water and drink 15 minutes before each meal .
The primary action of fiber