Importance of High Fiber Diets for Your Heart

This article is written keeping in the mind the importance of high fiber foods for the healthy heart. High fiber diets help to prevent heart diseases. Dietary fiber can be divided in two categories: Soluble fiber and Insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber is indigestible substances in food that are soluble in water. Insoluble fiber, on the other hand, comes from the plant based foods that are soluble in water. These two types of fiber have very different functions in the body.

Soluble fiber plays important role in the prevention of heart diseases and blood sugar. This type of fiber reduces the cholesterol levels and regulates blood sugar levels. Soluble fiber diets make you full for a longer time and very good for the weight loss. Insoluble fiber helps prevent constipation, colon cancer and other digestive diseases.

It is said that both types of fiber are good for the heart health. But soluble fiber is definitely more beneficial for heart. It has the ability to lower the cholesterol levels. Diets high in fiber, particularly soluble fiber, reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. High intake of soluble fiber reduces the blood cholesterol levels because the fiber reduces the amount of dietary cholesterol your body absorbs from the food.

Experts say daily intake of 25 to 30 grams of fiber lowers the cholesterol levels significantly. There are varieties of foods that contain soluble fiber. The best food sources of soluble fiber are fruits such as Apple, Bananas, Blackberries, Orange, Grapefruit, Peaches, Pears, Plums; vegetables such as corn, cabbage, broccoli, Brussels sprouts. Root vegetables like carrots, onions, potatoes, beets and sweet potatoes. In addition, soluble fiber can also be found in dried beans, chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, lima beans, navy beans, northern beans, pinto beans, green peas, black eyed peas, soybeans, lentils, oats, psyllium husk and nuts.

Some of the great sources of insoluble fiber are lentils, popcorn, root vegetables (turnips, sweet potatoes and parsnips etc), apples and almonds. Insoluble fiber can also be found in wheat bran, brown rice, nuts, green vegetables and fruits.