Martha's Minutes: Foods for Life

Nutrition 101

Fiber and Water: Filling You Up and Cleaning You Out

Good sources of fiber include bran, beans, brown rice and nuts, and green vegetables (broccoli, asparagus, spinach). Your health care provider may also recommend a fiber supplement. Dietary fiber helps:

• Promote healthy insulin and blood sugar response by slowing digestion, which helps to prevent a surge of blood sugar.
• Create a feeling of fullness, helping you control the amount of food you eat.
• Increase bowel motility, helping you empty what your body doesn't need more regularly.
• Disease alert. Low fiber diets can increase the risk to insulin resistance, digestive discomfort, and more serious intestinal concerns.

Water helps to transport vital nutrients to, and export waste from, our cells. It's also necessary to moisten the lungs and respiratory tract, lubricate joint surfaces and internal organs, and ensure proper digestion. Like fiber, it can increase the feeling of fullness and aid in toxin removal. So it's important to make sure you're getting enough water every day.

(Compliments of Metaginics)