A healthy digestive system is vital for seeing any real changes within your body from a balanced diet, and in order to ensure you’re functioning at the highest capacity and feeling your best it should always be a priority to improve your digestion. With this, fiber becomes an increasingly important nutrient to focus on within your eating habits to keep things running smoothly and ensure your body is able to maintain a healthy gut. But there are different kinds of fiber to be aware of depending on the foods you’re eating, and one is markedly better than the other in improving digestion and creating a positive environment within the gut so you can feel your best and adequately metabolize your food.
We checked in with registered dietitian Trista Best to discover the ideal type of fiber to streamline your digestion and boost your overall health so you can feel great in your body via the foods you eat.
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Soluble Fiber
It’s first important to understand the breakdown of where your fiber comes before determining which type is best for your health. “There are two primary forms of fiber; dietary fiber and functional fiber. Dietary fiber is found naturally occuring in food while functional fiber is extracted from whole food sources and added to processed food,” explains Best.
Within the groups of dietary and functional fiber, it can then be broken down into soluble and insoluble fiber. While they can both be useful for aiding in smooth digestion, it’s soluble fiber that will be the most effective as this form of fiber is also fermentable and therefore feeds the healthy bacteria in the gut.
Fiber is found in carbohydrates, and although it is known to help improve digestion, it may come as a surprise that fiber itself is not actually digestible by the body. “While other forms of carbohydrates are broken down into sugar molecules, fiber cannot be broken down because the body lacks enzymes to adequately digest it,” explains Best. “However, the body does use it for many beneficial purposes in the body from digestion to lowering cholesterol.”
As it is not able to be digested, fiber is particularly useful in keeping your body full for longer, making it easier to fight off cravings and maintain a healthy diet.
Soluble fiber found within whole sources, otherwise known as dietary fiber will serve your body the best in the long run as these foods are not processed and therefore don’t contain unnatural amounts of sugar or other ingredients that don’t belong in your diet.
“Functional fiber has been extracted from its original source and placed into processed foods,” notes Best. “While this source of fiber closely resembles fiber found in whole foods it is best to get your fiber from natural sources. Whole foods like fruit and vegetables offer the most effective source of fiber.”
Ultimately there is no unhealthy fiber variation that will bog down your diet or negatively impact your gut, but the more natural, whole food variations you include within your eating habits, the better. Best suggests women to aim for between 21 and 25 grams each day in order to experience the most efficient and smooth digestion without discomfort, and she adds that men should prioritize between 30 and 38 grams.
From fruits and vegetables to whole grains, these sources of soluble fiber from unprocessed foods will create a healthy environment within your body to eliminate unnecessary irritation in your stomach and allow you to feel your best.
