Fiber keeps our digestive tract from getting clogged with mucus, toxic materials, and metabolic wastes. It keeps our intestines and colon clean and in good health. It feeds and maintains a healthy intestinal flora made up of friendly bacteria and yeasts that help make some of our vitamins and it protects us from unfriendly intestinal bacteria and parasites. A healthy colon minimizes the release of toxins back into our blood stream.
Fiber also lowers blood cholesterol, because it prevents cholesterol and bile acids from being reabsorbed into our body from our intestine. Cholesterol and bile acids attach to fiber, and are carried out of our body with our solid waste. Fiber softens stools, prevents constipation, and maintains regularity. Flax, also known as Psyllium (sill-e-um) or Plantago, is one of the oldest known cultivated plants, probably originating in the Orient; it is an excellent source of fiber.
Fiber absorbs water and swells to about 20 times its dry volume. Be sure to drink lots of fluids when taking your fiber.
Take two teaspoons of fiber along with 8 ounces of water or juice and mix well. Then take a second glass of water to wash it down. Do not take medicine or tablets less than one hour before or after taking psyllium because the pills may become encapsulated in the jell like substance that psyllium makes. This could prevent the proper absorption of the medication or supplements.
Fiber is a dietary necessity, it is the indigestible parts of plants, such as the skins of apples and other fruits and the coverings of wheat and rice. The fiber content of foods is important in the bulking of the stool, which aids in regular elimination of waste materials through the colon. Psyllium husks are a natural fiber that encourages the detoxification of the colon by binding toxins, carcinogens and reducing the absorption of cholesterol and heavy metals.
Lack of fiber may likely be the most significant cause of our chronic, serious, deadly diseases such as constipation, colitis, gastritis, ulcers, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood pressure, diverticulitis, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, varicose veins, gallstones and gall bladder problems. Lack of fiber is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal problems, diabetes and cancer, especially breast and colon cancers. Our modern refined diet and fast foods have taken many of us away from a fiber-rich diet composed of salads, fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, etc. Eating a little bran for breakfast is not nearly enough to meet our daily fiber needs.
Transit time is an important health factor. Transit time is the time it takes the food you consume to be digested and excreted. If you only have a bowel movement every two or three days your transit time may be 48 to 72 hours. The shorter the transit time the less time fats and toxins will be reabsorbed into your system. The average person has five to thirty pounds of “dead-fecal matter” stuck to the lining of the intestines. Studies have shown this fecal matter to be present for twenty or thirty years or more. This problem can increase weight, blood pressure and cholesterol, severely reduce nutrient absorption, increase the toxic load on our immune system. The excess weight in the transverse colon can cause a prolapse (a dropping) of the colon putting pressure on the urinary bladder below causing incontinence, especially when you laugh or cough.
If you have a healthy colon you should be having a bowel movement within one hour after each meal. Sufficient fiber in the diet supports good colon function, helps eliminate waste and facilitates weight loss by reducing appetite and fat absorption.
Pasaporte a la Salud, Blvd. Sánchez Taboada, #706, Colonia San Gilberto, Guaymas, Sonora, México 85467
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622-224-3255
Richard Smithee
U.S. phone 520-841-6107
Mex. phone 622-224-3255
