The middle-aged are being afflicted by a plague of modern Western illnesses,many of them being fatal.Those illnesses are not caught from germs or viruses-they seem to creep upon us gradually.They are known,collectively as degenerative diseases,the commonest cause of death in Western countries.The second great destroyer is cancer,cancer of lung,and cancer of bowel being the most common fatal,forms of cancer.Apart from these,there is a group of other degenerative diseases like diabetes,diverticulosis and other less-serious but still troublesome problems like varicose veins,haemorrhoids and constipation.
The major factor that all these illnesses and health problems have in common is,that they are very rare among the "third world countries".Why?It has been found that these communities live on diets which contain a much higher percentage of carbohydrates obtained from cereals which have not been stripped off their dietary fibre,fibre-rich vegetables,legumes and fruits.Such findings have led to a surge of interest in dietary fibre-which for several years was considered to be just one of the unavailable sources of energy in the diet,incidentally having a laxative effect.Dietary fibre is essentially of plant origin.All cereals,fruits and vegetables contain some dietary fibre,but,just as the calorie content of different food varies to a great degree ,so does the fibre content.With cereal based foods,fibre value depends to a greater degree on how much has been stripped away in the milling and refining processes.But what exactly is dietary fibre?It can be best described as the carbohydrate material in plant foods that is not digested by man.It is a sponge like material,which absorbs and holds water as it is chewed in the mouth and passes down the gastrointestinal tract.This means that fibre-rich foods swell to a greater bulk,to fill the stomach,than any other foods.
Dietary fibre is the substance,which makes the waste matter(from the food we eat)pass through us and out of us at a desirable,speedy,natural rate.This is one of the main reasons why it is now considered to be such an important protective factor in saving us from diseases of bowel like cancer.The slow transit rate of fibre-depleted diet is thought to encourage the formation of cancer-forming substances (carcinogens)and other toxins within the body.A high fibre diet would pass through the alimentary canal quickly,giving these carcinogens and toxins very little time to interact in the intestines.The relationship between fibre and constipation is well known.A high fibre diet,thus,relieves a person from constipations and associated problems like haemorrhoids and diverticular disease.
Amongst all the risk factors:cigarette smoking,diet,sedentary living,stress-the strongest for coronary heart disease has been found to be smoking and the strongest protective factor,the intake of cereal fibre.The reason for the beneficial effect of dietary fibre is that it reduces the absorption of cholesterol.
Diabetes involves a faulty insulin production.(Insulin is necessary to control the excess of sugar in the blood).Insulin response to the carbohydrates of the food we eat varies with the speed of absorption of the carbohydrates.Any dietary factor which delays the absorption of carbohydrates maybe regarded as beneficial and here again dietary fibre appears in a valuable,preventive and protective role.Carbohydrate foods rich in fibre are absorbed more slowly than those from which the fibre has been removed.Hence the popularity of gram flour(high in fibre)in diabetes.
After controlling all the degenerative diseases,fibre goes onto control the body weight too.The principle is simple.Fibre provides no calories,so the total calorie value of a high fibre diet will be less.Secondly,the water absorbing and swelling tendencies of fibre help to fill up the stomach faster and for a longer period of time,thus,the total dietary intake is reduced.
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