A high-fiber diet is very important if you are looking to gain in terms of health. This is because a high-fiber diet helps the body gain a lot of water, and thus, help in the body’s natural cleaning process. This is why the importance of a high-fiber diet must never be underestimated.
However, not all people are a huge fan of a high-fiber diet. This means that they do not know why a high-fiber diet is so important. So, for all those people who wonder as to what is a high-fiber diet and why is such a type of diet important, this blog is for you solely. So, you should read on!
High-Fiber Diet: Tips on Being More Healthy
A high-fiber diet is very important. This is why you must bring in a lot of foods that fall in the list of high-fiber diet. However, along with having a high-fiber diet, you must also know some tips on how you can become more healthy. Below given are some of them:
Base your meals on higher fiber starchy carbohydrates
Starchy carbohydrates should make up just over a third of your diet. These include potatoes, bread, rice, pasta, and cereals. Choose higher-fiber or wholegrain varieties, such as wholewheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes with their skins on. They contain more fiber than white or refined starchy carbohydrates and can help you feel full longer.
Try to include at least one starchy food with each main meal. Some people think starchy foods are fattening, but gram for gram, the carbohydrates they contain provide fewer than half the calories of fat. Keep an eye on the fats you add when you’re cooking or serving these types of foods because that’s what increases the calorie content—for example, oil on chips, butter on bread, and creamy sauces on pasta. This is why follow the high-fiber diet fitness way.
Eat lots of fruit and veg: High-Fiber Diet
It’s recommended that you eat at least five portions of a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. These can be fresh, frozen, canned, dried, or juiced. Getting your 5 A Day is easier than it sounds. Why not chop a banana over your breakfast cereal or swap your usual mid-morning snack for a piece of fresh fruit? Do it the high-fiber diet fitness way.
A portion of fresh, canned, or frozen fruit and vegetables is 80g. A portion of dried fruit (which should be kept to mealtimes) is 30g. A 150ml glass of fruit juice, vegetable juice, or smoothie also counts as one portion, but limit the amount you have to no more than one glass a day, as these drinks are sugary and can damage your teeth.
Eat more fish, including a portion of oily fish
Fish is a good source of protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. Aim to eat at least two portions of fish a week, including at least one portion of oily fish. Oily fish are high in omega-3 fats, which may help prevent heart disease.
Oily fish include:
- salmon
- trout
- herring
- sardines
- pilchards
- mackerel
Non-oily fish include:
- haddock
- plaice
- coley
- cod
- tuna
- skate
- hake
You can choose from fresh, frozen, or canned fish, but remember that canned and smoked fish can be high in salt. While most people should be eating more fish, there are recommended limits for some types. Therefore, follow this high-fiber diet fitness tip.
Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
You need some fat in your diet, but paying attention to the amount and type of fat you’re eating is essential. There are two main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated. Too much saturated fat can increase the amount of cholesterol in the blood, which increases your risk of developing heart disease. This is why you must follow this tip from High-fiber diet Fitness.
On average, men should have no more than 30g of saturated fat a day. On average, women should have no more than 20g of saturated fat a day. Children under the age of 11 should have less saturated fat than adults, but a low-fat diet is not suitable for children under 5. In addition, full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, fromage frais, and yogurt, are recommended for up to the age of 2 years.
Benefits of a High-Fiber Diet
The benefits of a high-fiber diet are many. These are as listed below:
- Bowel movement: Insoluble fiber maintains bowel movements. It absorbs water and softens the stool. Soft stool is easier to pass, thus preventing constipation. Insoluble fiber also adds bulk to the stool, hence preventing the formation of loose stools.
- Improved bowel health: A high-fiber diet prevents the formation or worsening of hemorrhoids and diverticular disease, which present as outpouchings in the colon walls.
- Studies have shown that a high-fiber diet decreases the risk of colorectal cancer.
- Cholesterol-lowering effects: Soluble fibers bind to cholesterol molecules in the small intestine and prevent their absorption. Their cholesterol-lowering properties help prevent coronary heart disease.
- Postprandial glucose and insulin levels: Soluble fibers slow the absorption and digestion of carbohydrates and lower insulin demand, thereby stabilizing postprandial glucose levels.
- Improved satiety and weight loss: Soluble fibers viscously bind the stomach contents and prolong the gastric emptying time. Studies have shown this to help reduce weight, improve BMI, lower body fat, and the waist-to-hip ratio.
- Cancer prevention: Some studies have shown that soluble fibers such as pectin have antioxidant properties and lower the risk of other types of cancer, including breast cancer.
- Helps you live longer: Fiber intake is associated with decreased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, and improved immune function.
What Exercises To Do Along with Following A High-Fiber Diet?
Along with following a high-fiber diet, below given are some exercises that you should do. These will help you reap the benefits in the best manner possible from the high-fiber diet:
Overhead Triceps Extension
a)Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
b)Stand with your feet hip-distance apart.
c)Extend both arms fully overhead.
d)Keep your arms close to your head, and slowly bend your elbows.
e)Lower the dumbbells behind your head until your arms are lower than 90 degrees. Remember to keep your elbows pointing forward and not moving out to the sides.
Triceps Kickbacks: High-Fiber Diet
a)Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, your knees slightly bent, and your hips hunched forward.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand at the sides of your chest so your elbows are bent.
c)Engaging your triceps, straighten your arms behind you with your palms facing in. Your arms should be fully extended in a straight line parallel to your torso.
Triceps Underhand Kickbacks
a)Stand with your feet hip-distance apart, your knees slightly bent, and your hips hinging forward.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing before you.
c)Your arms should be bent at about 90 degrees.
d)Squeezing your triceps, straighten your arms behind you, fully extended in a straight line parallel to your torso.
Standing Eccentric Triceps Extensions: High-Fiber Diet
a)Standing with your feet hip-distance apart.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand.
c)Extend your arms in front of you.
d)Squeezing your triceps, bend your elbows until your arm forms a 90-degree angle.
e)Extend them back out.
Skull Crushers
a)Lie flat on your back on an exercise mat with your knees bent.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your chest.
c)Extend your straight arms up to the ceiling.
d)Slowly lower both arms toward your head down by your sides, bending your elbows at 90 degrees.
Close-Grip Dumbbell Press: High-Fiber Diet
a)Lie flat on your back on an exercise mat with your knees bent.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand by your chest.
c)Squeezing your triceps, push the dumbbells straight up towards the ceiling.
d)Press them together to lock out at the top.
e)Continue to press them together as you lower them back down with control.
Tate Press
a)Lie flat on your back on an exercise mat with your knees bent.
b)Hold a dumbbell in each hand with your palms facing forward.
c)Extend them shoulder-width apart with your elbows pointing out.
d)Without moving your arms, slowly bend your elbows towards your chest.
e)Let the dumbbells move up and down until they touch your upper chest.
f)Don’t let them rest on your chest.
Diamond Push Ups: High-Fiber Diet
a)Get into a high plank position with your shoulders directly over your wrists and your body in a straight line.
b)Place your hands together directly under your shoulders with your index fingers and thumbs touching.
c)It should form a diamond.
d)Slowly lower your body to the mat with your elbows widening out to the sides.
e)Using your triceps, press your arms back up to straighten.
Conclusion: High-Fiber Diet
So, this is all that you need to learn about the high-fiber diet. The high-fiber diet is good in all forms. This is why you have to bring it on and consume these fibre-rich foods.
FAQs: High-Fiber Diet
What is a high-fiber diet?
Ans: A high-fiber diet is a diet that is good for digestive health.
Does exercise benefit the body?
Ans: Yes. It does.
What advice would a person get who is suffering from constipation?
Ans: The advice would be to have fibre-rich foods.
Also Read:
