By Sharlene K. Johnson

How Fiber Works

A few years ago, it was the f-word that no one wanted to use. Today, it’s plastered all over packages at the supermarket. (That’s fiber, people, fiber.) Last year, manufacturers introduced more than 1,500 high-fiber, whole-grain products — an increase of 121 percent since 2005. Now we have high-fiber English muffins and even whole-bean chocolate bars.

Nutritionists’ early attempts to get Americans to embrace fiber flopped. But since then, the f-stuff has gotten some serious science behind it. Studies peg foods rich in fiber to a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer — and to losing weight without feeling hungry. For instance, researchers at Harvard Medical School found that women who increased their intake of high-fiber or whole-grain foods over a 12-year period were half as likely to become obese as those who decreased their consumption.

So How Does Fiber Work, Anyway?

Basically, it’s the part of plant foods — vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, legumes, and seeds — that your body can’t digest. There are two types of fiber: insoluble, which helps food pass through your digestive system, and soluble, which helps eliminate fat and lower cholesterol. Thanks to soluble fiber, sugars and fats enter your bloodstream at a slower rate, giving you a steady supply of energy. “When you eat foods that lack fiber, your blood sugar can spike quickly. Then it crashes, causing hunger and overeating,” says Tanya Zuckerbrot, RD, author of The F-Factor Diet.

The more fiber a food has, the better. “Fiber-packed products tend to be low-cal, so you can eat a lot,” Zuckerbrot says. “Fiber makes you full, because it swells in your stomach when it absorbs liquid.”

If you would like to read this article in it’s entirety, be sure to check out The Fitness Magazine.com

(NaturalNews) Following the lead of conventional medicine, people have become stressed out about bacteria and have waged a war on these tiny microorganisms in hopes that we can wipe them off the planet. The only problem with this desire is the fact that we require bacteria in order to not only lead healthy and happy lives, but also, as it turns out, to help reduce our anxiety.

We are mostly bacteria

Our body consists of approximately 10 trillion cells. However, not to be outdone, the bacterial cells in our body are near 100 trillion. This provides new perspective on who has a ‘say’ in how well our body functions, and how much influence they have on our overall health.

The connection between the gut and the brain

A few years ago, John Cryan of University College Cork in Ireland conducted an experiment with mice where he divided them into two groups. One group of mice was the control group, and the other group was fed lactobacillus ramnosis, a bacterium often used in yogurt.

After a few weeks, he put these mice into bowls of water to see how they would react to water stress. Mice are naturally good swimmers, but don’t have a particular affinity to water, so it tends to stress them out.

The control group swam around for approximately four minutes until they became exhausted and gave up in a fit of ‘behavioral despair’. However, the bacteria fed mice were far less frantic, and swam around the bowl up to the six-minute mark, at which they were finally removed from the water.

What Cryan found was the stress hormones of the control group were 100-fold higher. The lactobacillus-fed mice, however, had half as much of this stress hormone coursing through their veins, and showed a marked change in the pattern of their GABA receptors, which now closely resembled the structure of calm animals.

A follow up experiment was conducted on the lactobacillus-fed mice to determine how the bacteria in the gut were having a direct effect on the brain. So, in this experiment, the vagus nerve, which connects the gut to the brain, was severed.

This time, the mice acted exactly the same as the control group – frantic paddling and no calming influence. They gave up at approximately four minutes.

Is a bacterial imbalance responsible for most disease?

It appears that many disease processes are simply an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria in your body. In fact, due to the gut comprising up to 80 percent of the immune system where our 100 trillion bacteria primarily reside, one has to consider that they may be responsible for many autoimmune diseases, as well as mental disease through the vagus nerve connection.

To read this article in it’s entirety, be sure to check out NaturalNews.com

You probably already know that fiber helps with digestion. Did you know it can have big benefits for your heart health too?

“Studies have shown that foods that have a lot of fiber are clearly associated with lower risk of heart disease,” says Alice H. Lichtenstein, DSc, American Heart Association spokeswoman and director of the cardiovascular nutrition research program at Tufts University’s Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging.

How does dietary fiber help us? Is it something in the fiber itself, or are the benefits less direct? Here’s what you need to know about fiber for heart health and low cholesterol.

Fiber for Heart Health: The Benefits

Dietary fiber is the name for certain carbohydrates — from vegetables, plants, and grains — that the body can’t digest fully. Evidence for the benefits of fiber for heart health is quite strong. It’s been established in numerous studies. Diets high in fiber are associated with:

• Lower LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels
• Lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes
• Lower blood pressure in people with high blood pressure
• Lower risk of heart disease
• Lower risk of diabetes
• Healthier weights and lower rates of obesity

— To read this article in it’s entirey and learn more about the benefits of fiber, be sure to check out WebMD.com