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Almost every
day we learn of more research showing that a high-fiber diet may
help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other serious ailments.
The problem is that virtually all of us don't get enough fiber
to realize its potential benefits. The typical North American
eats only about 11 grams of fiber a day, according to the
American Dietetic Association. The U. S.
Food and Nutrition Board recommends that for a healthy diet we
consume 38 grams of dietary fiber per day for men and 25 grams
per day for women.
The Food and Drug Administration has recognized fiber's
importance by requiring it to be listed on the Nutrition Facts
panel of food labels along with other key nutrients and
calories. And, based on scientific evidence, the agency has
approved four claims related to fiber intake and lowered risk of
heart disease and cancer.
The most recent claim, approved in January 1997, allows food
companies to state on product labels that foods with soluble
fiber may reduce heart disease risk when
eaten as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
The other three claims, allowed since 1993, are:
Diets low in fat and rich in fiber-containing grain products,
fruits, and vegetables may reduce the risk of some types of
cancer.
Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in
fruits, vegetables, and grain products that contain fiber,
particularly soluble fiber, may reduce the risk of coronary
heart disease.
Diets low in fat and rich in fruits and vegetables, which are
low-fat foods and may contain fiber or vitamin A (as
beta-carotene) and vitamin C, may reduce the risk of some
cancers.
Found only in plant foods, such as whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds, fiber is composed of complex
carbohydrates. Some fibers are soluble in water and others are
insoluble. Most plant foods contain some of each kind. MegaOmega™ Organic Sprouted Flax
is an excellent source of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
Fiber's Health Benefits
What can fiber do for you? Numerous population-based studies
have found that diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and
high in fiber are associated with a reduced risk of certain
cancers,
diabetes, digestive disorders, and heart
disease. However, since high-fiber foods may also contain
antioxidant vitamins, phytochemicals, and other substances that
may offer protection against these diseases, researchers can't
say for certain that fiber alone is responsible for the reduced
health risks they observe, notes Joyce Saltsman, a nutritionist
with FDA's Office of Food Labeling. "Moreover, no one knows
whether one specific type of fiber is more beneficial than
another since fiber-rich foods tend to contain various types,"
she adds.
Recent findings on the health effects of fiber show it may
play a role in:
- Cancer: Epidemiologic studies have
consistently noted an association between low total fat and
high fiber intakes and reduced incidence of colon cancer. A
1992 study by researchers at Harvard Medical School found
that men who consumed 12 grams of fiber a day were twice as
likely to develop precancerous colon changes as men whose
daily fiber intake was about 30 grams. The exact mechanism
for reducing the risk is not known, but scientists theorize
that insoluble fiber adds bulk to stool, which in turn
dilutes carcinogens and speeds their transit through the
lower intestines and out of the body.
The evidence that a high-fiber diet can protect against
breast cancer is equivocal. Researchers analyzing data from
the Nurses' Health Study, which tracked 89,494 women for
eight years, concluded in 1992 that fiber intake has no
influence on breast cancer risk in middle-aged women.
Previously, a review and analysis of 12 studies found a link
between high fiber intake and reduced risk.
In the early stages, some breast tumors are stimulated by
excess amounts of estrogen circulating in the bloodstream.
Some scientists believe that fiber may hamper the growth of
such tumors by binding with estrogen in the intestine. This
prevents the excess estrogen from being reabsorbed into the
bloodstream.
- Digestive disorders: Because insoluble
fiber aids digestion and adds bulk to stool, it hastens
passage of fecal material through the gut, thus helping to
prevent or alleviate constipation.
Fiber also may help reduce the risk of diverticulosis, a
condition in which small pouches form in the colon wall
(usually from the pressure of straining during bowel
movements). People who already have diverticulosis often
find that increased fiber consumption can alleviate
symptoms, which include
constipation and/or diarrhea,
abdominal pain, flatulence, and mucus or blood in the stool.
- Diabetes: As with cholesterol, soluble
fiber traps carbohydrates to slow their digestion and
absorption. In theory, this may help prevent wide swings in
blood sugar level throughout the day. Additionally, a new
study from the Harvard School of Public Health, published in
the Feb. 12 issue of the Journal of the American Medical
Association, suggests that a high-sugar, low-fiber diet more
than doubles women's risk of Type II (non-insulin-dependent)
diabetes. In the study, cereal fiber was associated with a
28 percent decreased risk, with fiber from fruits and
vegetables having no effect. In comparison, cola beverages,
white bread, white rice, and french fries increased the
risk.
- Heart Disease: Clinical studies show
that a heart-healthy diet (low in saturated fat and
cholesterol, and high in fruits, vegetables and grain
products that contain soluble fiber) can lower blood
cholesterol. In these studies, cholesterol levels dropped
between 0.5 percent and 2 percent for every gram of soluble
fiber eaten per day.
As it passes through the gastrointestinal tract, soluble
fiber binds to dietary cholesterol, helping the body to
eliminate it. This reduces blood cholesterol levels, which,
in turn, reduces cholesterol deposits on arterial walls that
eventually choke off the vessel. There also is some evidence
that soluble fiber can slow the liver's manufacture of
cholesterol, as well as alter low-density lipoprotein (LDL)
particles to make them larger and less dense. Researchers
believe that small, dense LDL particles pose a bigger health
threat.
Recent findings from two long-term large-scale studies of
men suggest that high fiber intake can significantly lower
the risk of heart attack. Men who
ate the most fiber-rich foods (35 grams a day, on average)
suffered one-third fewer heart attacks than those who had
the lowest fiber intake (15 grams a day), according to a
Finnish study of 21,903 male smokers aged 50 to 69,
published in the December 1996 issue of Circulation. Earlier
in the year, findings from an ongoing U.S. study of 43,757
male health professionals (some of whom were sedentary,
overweight or smokers) suggest that those who ate more than
25 grams of fiber per day had a 36 percent lower risk of
developing heart disease than those who consumed less than
15 grams daily. In the Finnish study, each 10 grams of fiber
added to the diet decreased the risk of dying from heart
disease by 17 percent; in the U.S. study, risk was decreased
by 29 percent.
These results indicate that high-fiber diets may help
blunt the effects of smoking and other risk factors for
heart disease.
- Obesity: Because insoluble fiber is
indigestible and passes through the body virtually intact,
it provides few calories. And since the digestive tract can
handle only so much bulk at a time, fiber-rich foods are
more filling than other foods--so people tend to eat less.
Insoluble fiber also may hamper the absorption of
calorie-dense dietary fat.
All these factors point towards MegaOmega™ Organic Sprouted Flax
as a vital component of a healthy diet. It is rich in both types
of fiber (soluble and insoluble) as well as lignans, Omega 3
Essential Fatty Acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and protein.
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