Fiber is CRUCIAL!

You know the first thing that happens if you skimp on the fiber in your diet: you get backed up. This happens to me if I eat a single slice of pizza. The combination of the white flour in the crust and the cheese creates a blockage that is most unpleasant the following day. (TMI???) Good thing I rarely eat pizza!

But what if you rarely eat fiber? The Standard American Diet (SAD) contains very little fiber. A fast food meal of a cheeseburger, fries, and a coke contains only 5 grams of fiber. The American Heart Association recommends around 30 grams of fiber per day, a little more for men. Most Americans get about half of the recommended amount.

So? What's the big deal? Why is fiber so important?

We know from the example of the pizza clogging up my system that foods without fiber move more slowly through the digestive tract. When digestion moves slowly, toxins can build up. Over time, this situation can cause all kinds of trouble in the intestines. Serious trouble.

But another situation I recently learned about is how a lack of dietary fiber affects the gut biome. Watch this video with Dr. Rhonda Patrick for a more in-depth explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ve6XQH68mg

In a nutshell: there are billions of bacteria in the large intestine. These bacteria are responsible for digesting what we eat. And these beneficial bacteria thrive on fiber. Without enough fiber, they will starve. So instead of starving, the bacteria will do strange and destructive things.

One destructive thing these starved bacteria do is begin to digest the mucus lining of the intestines. This creates a problem of permeability. The gut bacteria begin to leak through the walls of the intestines. Our bodies sense an invader and try to fight off these bacteria. This situation is known as leaky gut syndrome.

Alternatively, the bacteria might migrate from the large intestine into the small intestine, where they do not belong. This condition is known as SIBO--small intestine bacteria overgrowth. Symptoms are bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and/or diarrhea, gas, and malnutrition.

How do you avoid these conditions?

Make sure to eat a diet that is rich in fiber! Foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds all have different types of fiber needed by the gut bacteria. In addition, naturally fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kombucha, kim chi, raw pickles and saurkraut provide probiotics which keep our gut supplied with good bacteria.

In addition, take good care of your overall health. Get enough quality sleep. Find positive ways to deal with stress, such as meditation, yoga, qi gong, or t'ai chi. Exercise enough but not too much. Drink plenty of water. You know the drill.

And if you need support, I am available for coaching. Leave me a message!