Fiber and Your Gut Health

We often hear about particular food being good or bad for the gut. However, are the claims surrounding our gut’s need for fiber real?

We have compiled a list of the Top 5 Reasons We Need Fiber. Plus, we added a list of food that makes it easy to get your daily dose of fiber. No, you do not need to be eating wheat or other products that may be hard on your pallet.

What is the Gut?

The gut or the gastrointestinal tract is the pathway your body uses to absorb or remove all the substances or nutrients that enter your body.

What is a Healthy Gut?

A healthy gut consists of a balance between good and harmful bacteria in the microbiome. Bacteria in the gut help create the optimal environment for nutrients to be absorbed, by-products creation, and waste products or harmful bacteria removal from the gut. Good bacteria are beneficial because they help maintain your gastrointestinal tract’s function.

Why do We Need Fiber?

1. One important thing we haven’t considered is that your gut bacteria need food. They will turn on the gut lining and start to seek nutrients. This is very bad for your stomach and the body.

2. When the gut bacteria have the nutrients they need, they can help protect the stomach lining. The good bacteria in your gut especially love prebiotics, a fiber found in vegetables and other foods.

3. Fiber helps to balance all the bacteria in your stomach lining so they can continue to work harmoniously together.

4. Fiber Eating high-fiber foods help the body stay full. Fiber increases the calories spent breaking down the actual food and helps create a sense of satiety.

5. Fiber helps the body eliminate toxins and keeps the digestive system healthy to help the absorption of nutrients into the body.

Since the good bacteria in the gut love prebiotic fiber, we have created our fiber list based on the foods that are with prebiotic fiber.

Some foods that naturally contain this fiber include

• almonds

• chicory

• garlic

• chickpeas

• leeks

• savoy cabbage

• lentils

• red kidney beans

• soya beans

• custard apples

• watermelon

• grapefruit

• oats

• pistachio

• flaxseed

• bran

• barley

When we introduce fiber into our diets we get the benefits of improving our gut health. The best thing about fiber is that you can introduce it into your diet at any time and even in small portions, it can be very helpful to your body.