POSITIVE LIVING WITH FIBRE

The National 28 April 2016

Fibre is the indigestible parts of plant foods, such as vegetables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts and legumes that help keep our digestive system healthy.

Increasing dietary fibre intake is likely to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain and obesity. High fibre foods are a good source of vitamins and minerals. 

You are kept feeling full or satisfied for longer which can result in consuming fewer calories with eventual weight loss.

A low fibre diet can lead to constipation, haemmoroids, diverticulitis, and elevated levels of cholesterol. But an excessive intake of fibre can lead to bowel obstruction, diarrhoea or dehydration.

Good choices include whole grain products, whole fruits and vegetables, beans, peas and other legumes, oats, nuts and seeds, barley, flax seeds and psyllium bush.

Drinking plenty of water is also important to avoid constipation and dehydraton.

Comment: People suffering from HIV and AIDS need a fibre diet of fruit, vegetables, grains and nuts to provide the protein that they have lost prior to antiretroviral (ARV) medication. There is no reserve of protein in the body and so the body digests its own muscle. 

This makes the HIV sufferer thin and wasting in body muscle. Once ARV treatment starts, the virus is stopped from attacking the small intestine, giving the opportunity for the body to absorb nutrients and build up tissue again. 

Hence the need for a diet of protein rich and fibre foods.