10 Good Reasons to Choose Fiber - and 10 Reasons to Avoid Fiberless Foods

The food we eat is the most influential factor on our health. The food we choose to eat can either lift us up or bring us down to the same degree. Foods, and fibers in particular, have tremendous therapeutic capabilities that only benefit us and allow us to maintain much better health. Dietary fibers are found in whole grains, all kinds of legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. Here is a short list of good reasons to start including fibers in your diet:

1. Dietary fiber is filling and provides a feeling of fullness for a long time.
2. A diet rich in fiber prevents and treats high blood pressure levels.
3. Regularly incorporating fiber into every meal of the day regulates blood sugar levels.
4. Fiber in food in all forms prevents and treats cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the blood and the process of atherosclerosis.
5. Fiber in food will prevent and treat constipation (it is crucial to drink an adequate amount of fluids according to fiber consumption).
6. Dietary fibers contain high nutritional values, thus helping to maintain the balance of various systems in the body, from the immune system to the nervous system.
7. Including fiber as part of a meal will aid in digesting the consumed food and absorbing its nutritional values.
8. Fiber-rich food prevents and treats various chronic and acute inflammations (except intestinal inflammation, where a fiber-free diet is essential).
9. Dietary fibers are essential for blood vessel health and heart function.
10. Fiber requires us to chew food well. It strengthens the jaw muscles and benefits the health of the gums, mouth, and teeth.

To further understand the importance of fibers in our lives, here are 10 reasons to avoid fiberless foods (such as white bread, pitas, baguettes and laffa, bourekas, rugelach, cookies and cakes, flour-based snacks like Bissli and crunchy pita, white pasta, and all other types and varieties of white flour products):

1. Foods without fibers, especially white flour, encourage weight gain and prevent weight loss.
2. Fiberless food quickly raises blood sugar levels and just as quickly causes a drop in blood sugar.
3. Consuming fiber-free foods will lead to greater hunger, mainly craving for empty carbohydrates devoid of fiber.
4. A lack of dietary fiber encourages the development of metabolic diseases such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol and triglycerides, diabetes, and obesity.
5. Fiberless food is often devoid of other nutritional values, such as vitamins, minerals, and proteins, meaning we consume "empty calories."
6. Furthermore, fiberless food creates an acidic reaction in bodily fluids, leading to depletion of the body's mineral reserves, especially calcium from the bones.
7. Foods without fibers encourage acute and chronic inflammatory processes.
8. A fiber-free diet weakens the immune system and encourages the growth of fungi, parasites, and pathogens.
9. A diet mainly based on fiberless foods can cause fatigue, heaviness, constipation, hemorrhoids, and abdominal bloating.
10. Lastly, but no less important, foods without fibers are addictive and create a "vicious cycle" – continually craving more and more fiberless food.

Wishing everyone wise nutrition,

Dina

Satiating Fiber-Rich Pastry

Ingredients:

2¼ cups oat bran

¼ cup chopped nuts

3 small chopped dates

¼ cup broken almonds

1 packet baking powder

½ cup silan

1¼ cups milk of any type

2 eggs

2 tablespoons oil (preferably coconut oil or cold-pressed canola)

Plenty of cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation: Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

Mix dry ingredients and add the milk, eggs, and oil. Stir well.

Pour into a greased muffin tray (not recommended to use paper cups) and bake for about 15-17 minutes (the pastries will be slightly moist but not wet).

Notes: Can be frozen. It is recommended to eat about ½ hour before meals and drink plenty.