As we look into the studies on fiber we find that fiber is important for gastrointestinal health as well as cholesterol-lowering benefits. Fiber is mainly used by your body to clean it out easier. It passes through your body unchanged and will push everything in front of it in the digestive system along, making the digestive process easier. Another function for fiber is to regulate how full you are. The amount of fiber you eat is what gives you the full feeling when you eat a lot. Some of the places you can find fiber is in oats, wheat and basically any food with any part of a plant in it. Fiber is a plant that cannot be broken down by the human digestive system. Intestinal bacteria are able to utilize fiber as nutrition, thus helping you to be well. Our digestive system is unable to break down dietary fiber and this indigestible ingredient has many effects on the functions of the body. Because fiber is not absorbed by the body, it does not significantly increase the energy content of food, and thus helps you to control your body weight. Soluble fiber is “soluble” in water. When mixed with water it forms and swells into a gel-like substance making the feces increase in weight. The dissolving of some fibers in water forms viscous solutions in the intestines; these are called viscous or soluble fibers. Soluble fiber has a lot of many benefits, including but not limited to, moderating blood glucose levels and lowering cholesterol. Some of the soluble fibers include pectins, gums, mucilages and some hemicelluloses. Some of the good sources of soluble fiber include oats and oatmeal, legumes, barley, fruits and vegetables. Insoluble fiber does not absorb or dissolve in water. It will pass through our digestive system in close to its original form. Insoluble fiber will offer many benefits to the intestinal health, which can include a reduction in the risk and occurrence of colorectal cancer, hemorrhoids, and constipation. Some of the names for insoluble fibers include cellulose, lignins, and also some other hemicelluloses. Most of insoluble fibers come from the bran layers of cereal grains. There are reports that show that fiber intake and cardiovascular mortality are related to the intake of fat when calories are controlled. Men in the lowest level of dietary fiber intake have exhibited four times higher rate of CDH mortality compared to the men in the highest level, even when keeping the calorie intake the same for both groups. The rate of CDH mortality was reported to be inversely associated with the fiber intake across 20 industrialized nations, but adjustment for fat intake removed the association. Because of the amount of matter in the GI tract, a high fiber diet slows nutrient absorption, this can be beneficial in slowing down the absorption of glucose and reducing the fluctuations of blood glucose. This can help if you have high blood sugar levels to keep them in control. Too much fiber can be bad as it can decrease the absorption of essential minerals into the body. A person with a small stomach capacity can eat a very high fiber diet may get full before they have met the requirements of the nutrients they need. Some carbohydrates causes flatulence or gas. A increase in fiber content of a diet can also cause gas along with stomach discomfort and even diarrhea. As a preventive strategy, children older than two should gradually be given a diet reducing the total saturated fat intake 30% to 10% of total calories, respectively. Children should get the majority of calories from complex carbohydrates. Diets like these offers increased fiber and nutrient intake from many different dietary sources as well, but concerns about energy intake reduction and the compromising of growth have prompted suggested fiber guidelines from the offices of pediatrics. For a young woman to get the recommended daily fiber of 25 grams you would need to eat a bowl of raisin bran, a half cup of strawberries, an apple, a sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes on whole wheat bread, a cup of eggplant, a baked potato with the skin, and three cups of popcorn to get what you need for one day. Most people never get but 15 grams in a day.

Reference
Van Horn, Linda, PhD, RD; American Heart Association, 1997. Learn and Live, retrieved June 20, 2011, from: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/95/12/2701
Grosvenor,, M.B., & Smolin, L.A,, (2006), Nutrition, Everyday choices, New Jersey” John Wiley & Sons, Inc., retrieved June 20, 2011.