Fiber is a Carb! For a Healthy Gut microbiome: soluble fibres transit through the digestive tract to the colon where they encounter our gut microbes. They are considered to have prebiotic properties because they are fermented (broken down) by beneficial bacteria in the gut to produce essential short-chain fatty acids.
Health Benefits of Fiber
If you have diabetes or prediabetes, fiber is your friend because it helps with blood sugar control and weight management. It can also lower your risk of heart disease and some cancers. Specifically, fiber can help:
Control your blood sugar. Because the body is unable to absorb and break down fiber, it doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar the way other carbohydrates can. This can help keep your blood sugar in your target range.
Protect your heart. Fiber prevents your body from taking in some fat and cholesterol, lowering your triglyceride and cholesterol levels to help reduce your risk of heart disease.
Maintain your digestive health. Fiber acts like a scrub brush, cleaning your digestive tract. It helps clean out bacteria and other buildup to improve gut health and help reduce your risk of colon cancer.
Keep you feeling full and help with weight management. Since fiber can’t be digested, it moves slowly through the stomach, making you feel fuller for longer. And many foods high in fiber tend to be low in calories, which can help with weight loss.
Types of Fiber
There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Each has important health benefits and plays a different role in the body.
Soluble fiber. This type dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in your stomach, slowing down digestion. It helps control your blood sugar and cholesterol, which can help prevent or manage diabetes complications. Soluble fiber is found in apples, bananas, oats, peas, black beans, lima beans, Brussels sprouts, and avocados.
Insoluble fiber. This type does not dissolve in water and typically remains whole as it passes through your stomach. It supports insulin sensitivity and helps keep your bowels healthy to keep you regular. Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat flour, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skins of many fruits and vegetables.
Health Benefits of Fiber
If you have diabetes or prediabetes, fiber is your friend because it helps with blood sugar control and weight management. It can also lower your risk of heart disease and some cancers. Specifically, fiber can help:
Control your blood sugar. Because the body is unable to absorb and break down fiber, it doesn’t cause a spike in blood sugar the way other carbohydrates can. This can help keep your blood sugar in your target range.
Protect your heart. Fiber prevents your body from taking in some fat and cholesterol, lowering your triglyceride and cholesterol levels to help reduce your risk of heart disease.
Maintain your digestive health. Fiber acts like a scrub brush, cleaning your digestive tract. It helps clean out bacteria and other buildup to improve gut health and help reduce your risk of colon cancer.
Keep you feeling full and help with weight management. Since fiber can’t be digested, it moves slowly through the stomach, making you feel fuller for longer. And many foods high in fiber tend to be low in calories, which can help with weight loss.
Types of Fiber
There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. Each has important health benefits and plays a different role in the body.
Soluble fiber. This type dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance in your stomach, slowing down digestion. It helps control your blood sugar and cholesterol, which can help prevent or manage diabetes complications. Soluble fiber is found in apples, bananas, oats, peas, black beans, lima beans, Brussels sprouts, and avocados.
Insoluble fiber. This type does not dissolve in water and typically remains whole as it passes through your stomach. It supports insulin sensitivity and helps keep your bowels healthy to keep you regular. Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat flour, bran, nuts, seeds, and the skins of many fruits and vegetables.
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LearningTranscript
00:00I want to show you how short-chain fatty acids can change your life. It's directly tied
00:18into all inflammatory diseases as well as weight gain. But there's one common denominator
00:24when it comes to ill health within our body. It's called inflammation. Inflammation is
00:29tied into cardiovascular disease, heart disease, clogging of the arteries, diabetes, obesity,
00:35and the list goes on. But short-chain fatty acids are our friendly gut bacteria that ferment
00:41fiber in our colon, and it's the main source of energy for all the cells lining your colon.
00:46And if we're eating foods that have inulin, pectin, resistant starch, these are like all
00:52soluble fibers that when they bypass the small intestine, they make its way to the large
00:57intestine, feeding our probiotics. So these are actually prebiotics. But as a result of
01:04these chemical changes that take place as the probiotics are eating up those prebiotics,
01:12we then start getting these short-chain fatty acids. And about 95% of our short-chain fatty
01:18acids that are produced are acetate, propionate, and butyrate. And propionate is mainly involved
01:24in producing glucose in the liver and small intestine. Acetate is important for energy
01:29production and synthesis of lipids. And butyrate, which is our most important thing we want to focus
01:35on, is our preferred energy source for the cells that line the colon. And eating lots of fiber-rich
01:41foods like our vegetables, our fruits, our legumes, these are the prebiotics. And this is what
01:50flourishes our microbiome in our gut. And this is what increases your short-chain fatty acids.
01:55And for all the many people worldwide who are suffering with inflammatory conditions in their
02:00bowels, in their colon, like ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, by increasing your prebiotics,
02:08by increasing your short-chain fatty acids, which secretes more butyrate, that will protect the
02:15colonocytes, the colon cells, to prevent colon cancer in your gut. And for the millions of
02:22people who have problems controlling their blood glucose levels, if it's insulin resistant,
02:26prediabetes, or even diabetes, these short-chain fatty acids have been shown to increase enzyme
02:32activity in your liver and your muscle cells, resulting in better blood sugar management.
02:37And that important fiber that you're eating, those prebiotics that are feeding the probiotics
02:42that's forming the short-chain fatty acids, turning it into butyrate, that butyrate makes
02:46its way into the entire body, into the bloodstream, reducing inflammation. And let's go back to the
02:53heart. Let's look at the arteries. Those arteries, when they start to clog, when they start to
02:59increase cholesterol, and inflammation causes more calcium and other binding heavy metals that
03:06occurs in the artery that blocks off blood supply to the heart, which we can call a heart attack,
03:11or even in the arteries that go to the brain, which we call a stroke. But that butyrate reduces
03:17inflammation. It lowers bad cholesterol. It lowers the low density of lipoproteins.
03:22And that means you have healthier arteries. So my number one message for you is to start eating
03:29more healthy fiber, soluble fiber, prebiotics, to allow the short-chain fatty acids to go rampage
03:36in your gut to decrease inflammation throughout your entire system, giving you better health
03:43and reversing many diseases that people are having today. I hope this video was informative.
03:51Please share it with your friends and family. Leave your comments below. And most important,
03:57make it a great day. I'm Dr. Alan Mandel.
04:06you