Most of us are told we need to eat more fiber, but seldom follow this. Although the American Dietetic Association recommends eating 20-35 g of fiber daily, still the studies show only about 5% of Americans get enough fiber in their diet. Fiber intake in the U.S. averages around 12 to 15 grams a day. The average American eats less than half of that so in order to be healthy you need 24 to 38 grams of fiber a day.
Usually, people refrain from high fiber diets in fear of bloating, bowel disturbance, cramping, or gas. Adding fiber gradually to your diet over a period of time can help prevent this. It's important to drink more fluids when you increase the amount of fiber you eat. The recommended amount of water is eight glasses a day. Truth is, there are lots extraordinary health benefits from just eating more healthy high fiber foods which includes: regular normal bowel movements; eliminates need for harmful laxatives; decreases hemorrhoids and colon cancer; lowers cholesterol and risk of heart disease; helps in maintaining normal healthy body weight; normalizes blood sugar and reduces risk of diabetes.
New York Times best-selling author and a foremost authority on optimum nutrition and digestion, natural detoxification methods, and herbal internal cleansing, Brenda Watson shares that there are some fiber rich foods like, starches found in vegetables, grains, legumes and indigestible sugars that are common reprobates because they cause bloating. These foods are weakly absorbed by the body and when they pass through to the colon, bacteria can ferment them which lead to the creation of intestinal gas.
Furthermore, to reduce bloating, belching, gas and gas pains, it is recommended to watch closely on the kinds of starches that you take in plus make use of supplemental digestive enzymes to prop up absorption. This is essentially significant especially when you're in the start of a high fiber diet.
Although there are various high fiber supplements that can help you meet your daily optimum level they should not replace nutritious high fiber foods. Amylases for starch digestion, alpha-galactosidase for the sugars are the recommended components that you should look at. Supplements provide only a very restricted type of fiber. Eating a diet of high-fiber foods usually incorporates various kinds of fiber, and that's healthier.
Moreover, there are some reasons of gas and bloating besides fiber:
Swallowed air - Belching or burping is your body's way of expelling excess air from your stomach. You may swallow excess air if you eat or drink too fast, talk while you eat, drink carbonated beverages or drink through a straw. Doing this can produce neutral gas that is consist of oxygen and nitrogen and which normally release during belching.
Processed foods - Processed foods are stripped of essential nutrients such as copper, chromium, manganese, cobalt, zinc and magnesium. Without these nutrients, the body is unable to digest the carbohydrates in these foods properly. These unused carbohydrates provide fuel for bad bacteria to produce intestinal gas.
Poor food combining - Ms Watson elucidates that fruit is supposed to be consume alone since it is very rapidly processed by the body. The digestive process is slowed when fruit is eaten along with other food. Subsequently, this applies also to proteins which are not advisable to be taken with along with starchy carbohydrates.
Every person who eats food produces intestinal gas. In some individuals, gas can be excessive and embarrassing, causing abdominal bloating, frequent and excessive flatulence, or sharp, jabbing pains in the abdomen. Although it is caused by a variety of factors, it is ultimately the result of poor digestion. When one doesn't have enough naturally occurring digestive enzymes, or eats foods that are difficult to digest, food is left in the colon in an undigested form.
Author Resource:-
Charles Volcolatte is a health and weight loss researcher for www.skinnyasap.com. He writes and researches actively on Healthy Dieting Information and shares his knowledge at www.skinnyasap.com where he works as a staff writer.