What are the health benefits of roughage and why is it important to eat it?
Elevate Christian Network | Health and Wellness
Roughage is the portion of plant foods, such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, that your body can’t digest. However, it’s an important food source for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. It may also aid weight management and decrease certain risk factors for heart disease.
Health experts have long recommended eating roughage-rich foods to improve digestive health. Roughage, or fiber, refers to the carbs in plants that your body cannot digest. This article uses the terms roughage and fiber interchangeably.
Once roughage reaches your large intestine, it’s either broken down by your gut bacteria or exits your body in your stools.
Main Types of Fiber
There are two main types of fiber — soluble and insoluble. Most foods high in roughage contain a combination of these but are usually richer in one type.
In the gut, soluble fiber absorbs water to become gel-like. This allows your gut bacteria to break it down easily. Chia seeds and oats are both high in soluble fiber.
In contrast, insoluble fiber has a more rigid microscopic structure and does not absorb water. Instead, it adds bulk to stools. Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of insoluble fiber.
Improves digestion and gut health
Insoluble fiber helps alleviate constipation by adding bulk to stools, while the gel-like consistency of soluble fiber helps move stools more easily through your digestive tract.
Dietary fiber also acts as a prebiotic, which feeds the beneficial probiotic bacteria in your gut, enabling them to thrive and limit the growth of harmful bacteria.
The prebiotics in fiber may also reduce your risk of colon cancer by promoting healthy bowel movements and strengthening the layer of tissue lining your intestines.
Helps you manage your weight
Consuming fiber may also help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Eating more fiber may also increase your resting metabolic rate (RMR), which is the number of calories you burn at rest.
A 6-week study in 81 adults found that those who ate a diet containing about 40 grams of fiber daily had a higher RMR and burned 92 more calories per day, compared to those who ate a diet with only about 21 grams of fiber per day […]
Click here to view original web page at www.healthline.com
How To Optimize Your Fiber Intake and Get Your Belly Back on Track
- Fiber flushes fat, keeps your digestion regular, and even helps lower cholesterol but too much can upset your stomach. Dr. Oz has the solutions that will help you prevent gas, cramping, and more.
- Visit Dr. Oz online at https://www.doctoroz.com
More resources:
What Are the Functions of Roughage? | Healthy Eating | SF Gate
One of the main benefits of eating roughage is that it helps to regulate your digestion. Insoluble fiber provides bulk in your intestines and helps to keep food moving through your digestive tract. Insoluble fiber absorbs water and swells into a gel that helps to keep bowel movements soft and easy to pass…
List of Roughage Foods | Livestrong.com
Roughage, also known as fiber or bulk, is a fibrous indigestible compound that your body can’t absorb. It aids in the passage of food and waste products through the gut. Fiber is usually associated with bowel regularity, intestinal disorders, and decreased risk of developing diverticulitis, but roughage is beneficial to overall health as well…
Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet – Mayo Clinic
Dietary fiber — found mainly in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes — is probably best known for its ability to prevent or relieve constipation. But foods containing fiber can provide other health benefits as well, such as helping to maintain a healthy weight and lowering your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some types of cancer…
8 Tips to Improve Your Digestive Health – The Dr. Oz Show
Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program
As a former junk-food junkie, Dr. B knows firsthand the power of fiber to dramatically transform our health. The good news is that our guts can be trained. Fiber-rich, real foods–with fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and legumes–start working quickly and maintain your long-term health, promote weight loss, and allow you to thrive and feel great from the inside out.
With a 28-day jumpstart program with menus and more than 65 recipes, along with essential advice on food sensitivities, Fiber Fueled offers the blueprint to help you turbocharge your gut for lifelong health. | Learn more…
See also: Health & Wellness Channel | Health & Fitness Store on Elevate Christian Network
About Cee Harmon
Cee Harmon is the founder of Elevate Christian Network and Elevate Your Potential Magazine. He enjoys helping people improve the quality of their lives - spirit, soul, and body.
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