1. Aid in digestion: dietary fiber is broken down by intestinal bacteria, producing low-grade volatile acids and their decomposition products, promoting gastrointestinal peristalsis, stimulating the secretion of digestive juices, and has the function of aiding digestion.
2. Laxative: dietary fiber passes through the intestinal lumen, can adsorb the harmful substances entering from outside the body and the harmful substances manufactured in the body; absorbs and maintains a large amount of water, so that the volume of feces increases and becomes fluffy. Because dietary fiber has a stimulating effect on the intestinal wall, can increase intestinal peristalsis, promote defecation, thus effectively preventing feces retention in the intestinal tract for too long, the water is sucked dry, occurring dry knots, resulting in constipation, which in turn causes bloating, bad breath, loss of appetite, headache, irritability, and so on a series of auto-intoxication syndrome.
3. Prevention and treatment of diverticulosis: diverticula are small sacs protruding outward from the weak point of the colon wall, a place for germs to reproduce and multiply. If the capsule is inflamed, the formation of diverticulitis, will be very painful. Dietary fiber can make bowel movements smooth, reduce intestinal pressure, both prevention and treatment of diverticulosis.
4. Prevent "squeeze disease": excessive dry stool stagnation in the intestines, so that the intestinal "segmentation movement" to enhance the intestinal pressure increases, resulting in varicose veins of the lower extremities, appendicitis, hemorrhoids, fissure hernia and venous thrombosis, collectively referred to as the "squeeze disease". Reasonable consumption of dietary fiber, can effectively prevent "squeeze disease".
5. Cancer prevention: animal food lack of dietary fiber, anaerobic bacteria in the intestines in the undigested food residues in large numbers, can produce harmful substances that promote cancer. In addition, bile salts or metabolic precursors into carcinogens, and intestinal mucosa contact for too long, will induce colon cancer. Dietary fiber has good water absorption and water retention properties, and can carry undigested food residues and harmful metabolites out of the body faster. So dietary fiber can prevent cancer.
6. Prevention and treatment of cholelithiasis: dietary fiber in the intestinal tract can adsorb and bind bile salts, so that some of the bile salts are discharged from the body with dietary fiber. And bile salts and cholesterol metabolites, in order to supplement the part of the bile salts are discharged, there is a need for more cholesterol metabolism. Pectin binds to the excess cholesterol and helps the body to eliminate the excess cholesterol, thus lowering the blood cholesterol and maintaining the health of the cardiovascular system. Tests show that in the patient's diet mixed with 50 grams of whole wheat bran cereals every day, 1 month after the patient's gallbladder in the crystalline cholesterol can disappear, bile cholesterol concentration returned to normal levels.
7. Prevention and treatment of hyperlipidemia, diabetes: dietary fiber and lipids, bile acid salts bonded together, discharged through the feces, reducing the level of triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood; dietary fiber can delay the absorption of glucose and delay the emergence of digestible sugars in the small intestine; dietary fiber can reduce the functional burden on the insulin cells; dietary fiber can also make the blood glucose is in a stable state, narrowing the concentration of blood glucose The amplitude of the change, have a stabilizing effect on diabetes.
Some people have been on dietary fiber intake and morbidity survey statistics, often lack of dietary fiber, can cause gastrointestinal diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic diseases.
8. Prevention and treatment of obesity: obesity is mostly love to eat not love to move, that is, eat more, consume less, so that too much fat accumulation. Enough dietary fiber helps to prevent excessive food intake and storage fat accumulation. This can satisfy the feeling of fullness in the stomach and intestines on the one hand, and reduce the calories of ingested food on the other. High dietary fiber foods not only solve the "hunger problem", but also to achieve the purpose of weight loss.