It’s Not Sexy…It’s Fiber
Yeah, I know. Fiber. It sounds like something your grandparents might talk about. It is important though, you need to get enough fiber into your daily diet. Losing weight and toning up takes more than just exercise. You have to eat a balanced diet, and fiber is an important part of that.
Eating enough fiber can help lower your cholesterol by helping your digestive tract work properly and keeping you ‘cleaned out’.
Fiber can also help with weight loss becasue fiber takes longer to digest which means you’ll feel fuller longer so you’ll eat less.
Soluble fiber is the type that plays the biggest role in lowering bad cholesterol levels and is fully broken down by the body. Good sources of soluable fiber include: oat bran, oatmeal, beans, peas, rice bran, barley, and fruits.
Insoluble fiber, on the other hand is not digested by the body and helps to slow down gastric emptying, making you feel fuller longer. This is what will provide the biggest benefit when it comes to weight control.
Good sources of this type of fiber include whole-wheat breads, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, wheat bran, cabbage, beets, carrots, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and the skin of apples.
So, even though it’s not sexy, eating enough fiber can actually help you lower your cholesterol and help you feel more sated for longer periods of time which can help you eat less and lose weight. Fiber may not be sexy but eating enough of it can help you look sexy!
