Where’s the fibre?
By definition, fibre is found only in plant foods, and nowhere else. One of the problems behind our collective fibre deficiency is that most people have no idea what is in their food. In fact, more than half of Americans think steak is a source of fibre.
There are two categories of fibre: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre acts like a sponge; it soaks up excess cholesterol, fats and toxins. Insoluble fibre is like a scrub brush; it ‘scours’ the digestive tract as it passes through. We need both the sponge and the scrub brush to keep our systems clean. Foods high in soluble fibre include oats and oat bran, barley, beans and legumes, apples, pears and citrus fruits (but not fruit juices). Insoluble fibre is found mostly in the skins and husks of plant foods, whereas soluble fibre dwells in the fleshy part inside the fruit. For instance, apple peels are largely insoluble fibre, while the flesh of an apple is mostly soluble fibre. Both categories of fibre do four powerful things to promote weight loss:
1 Fibre tames your appetite so you don’t overeat. There’s a powerful hormone in your body called cholecystokinin (CCK) that helps control satiety, the feeling of fullness that stops hunger. Fibre increases the production and prolongs the activity of CCK. As a result, you’ll feel fuller for longer, and your cravings for fattening stuff will diminish.
2 Fibre helps prevent the absorption of excess calories from the fat you eat. Because the body can’t break down fibre, fibre exits the body in the same form it entered. As it moves through your body, it snatches up fat and whisks it all the way through to your colon, where the fat and fibre are packaged together into stool and eliminated from the body. In a study by the USDA, researchers set a certain limit on calories for volunteers and altered the fibre content in their diets. They found that fewer calories were absorbed with increased fibre intake. People who took in up to 36 grams of fibre a day absorbed 130 fewer calories daily – automatically. Over a year, that adds up to around 47,000 calories. Because every 900 grams of body fat is equal to 3,500 calories, you could lose nearly 6 kilos in a year – eff ortlessly – by increasing your daily fibre intake.
3 Fibre slows down the conversion of carbohydrates to glucose (blood sugar) in your body. This helps prevent weight gain, because excess glucose not used for energy converts to triglycerides that are either stored as unwanted body fat or accumulate in the blood, where they cause artery-clogging plaque. Fibre also increases insulin sensitivity, which means that cells respond well to insulin when it brings glucose to their doors (receptors) as fuel. Over time, eating more fibre will help your body use glucose more efficiently; in other words, your body will become more of a natural ‘fat-burning’ machine.
4 Fibre helps populate the levels of beneficial bugs (probiotics) in your gut – a factor that can improve your shape. Your body hosts trillions of these tiny critters, mostly in your intestines. They break down food, help you absorb nutrients, and keep your immune system at peak efficiency.