Consuming food high in fiber is vital for digestive health. It also aids in weight management. One traditional vegetable in Honolulu, HI, is kalo (taro root). Fiber isn’t its only virtue. It also contains vitamins B6, C, E, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, copper, and manganese. However, the fiber it contains and the resistant starch provide many health benefits, including help with weight loss. Other high-fiber foods grown locally include papaya, Okinawan sweet potatoes, ulu (breadfruit), guava, and some green leafy vegetables.
Fiber helps control blood sugar.
Fiber is a carbohydrate; just as simple sugars are. There’s a difference in digesting fiber compared to digesting simple sugars. Simple sugars cause blood sugar to spike, but fiber doesn’t. Your body can’t digest fiber, so it slows digestion and the absorption of simple sugar to prevent blood sugar spikes. One reason your blood sugar doesn’t spike when you eat guava or papaya, even though they’re very sweet, is their fiber. The same isn’t true of sugar drinks or candy bars.
You’ll make your gut happy when you eat fiber.
There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber changes into a gel when combined with water. It acts as a prebiotic by feeding the microbes in your gut and encouraging beneficial ones. The beneficial bacteria act like a second immune system, improve your mood, and help digest food to release nutrients. Insoluble fiber adds bulk to your stool and helps keep your elimination system running smoothly.
Fiber fills you up and helps you lose weight.
Besides limiting blood sugar spikes that can lead to insulin resistance and difficulty losing weight, fiber fills you up and keeps you fuller longer. By feeding the beneficial microbes, it discourages the harmful ones. It can limit fungi—yeast—overrun that causes sugar cravings. Recent studies found that people who are obese and have difficulty losing weight have a less diverse microbiome than those who have no problem with weight loss. Eating fiber provides the prebiotic that helps achieve diversity and a healthy microbiome.
- Consume a mix of fruits and vegetables of various colors to ensure you have a well-balanced diet. Other high-fiber foods besides sweet potatoes and kalo include broccoli, whole grains, beans, apples, and asparagus.
- If you increase your fiber intake, do it slowly. If you increase the fiber too fast, it can cause gas and bloating. It can trigger GERD, constipation, diarrhea, and mineral deficits.
- Increase your water intake when adding fiber from whole grains to your diet. If you’re increasing fiber by eating more fruits and vegetables, the water in the fruits and vegetables will take care of the problem.
- If you’ve taken or are taking an antibiotic, consume probiotic foods like kefir, yogurt, and sauerkraut and include prebiotic food high in fiber. The antibiotic kills digestive bacteria, too, leaving other microbes, like yeast, to thrive.
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