Week 2 reflection

What is Fibre?

Fibre is made up of a number of complex carbohydrates. There are two types of fibre,insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. There are no calories,vitamins or minerals in fibre and is not digested when we eat it.

Which food can it be found in?

Fibre is only found in the cell walls of plants. Food found in meats,fish and diary products contains no fibre at all.

What is the function of Fibre?

Fibre is an essential part of bowel function. When fibre passes through the bowel,its absorbs a lot of water,so it increases the amount of waste. It also causes the waste to be softer and increases the speed and ease in which it passes through the bowel.

Why is fibre important?

A fibre rich diet has many health benefits. It reduces the risk of bowel problem like:

1. Constipation
2. Piles(Haemorrhoids)
3. Diverticular disease
4. Cancer of the colon
   

Also, soluble fibre helps to stabilize blood sugar levels because it slows down blood cholesterol levels, which would help reduce the risk of heart disease. Fibre also helps you to feel full so it would help those who hope to control their diet,so as to lose weigh.

Good source of fibre:

All plant-base food contains fibre, although some more than the others. Good source of are fruit,vegetables, wholegrain rice and pasta,wholemeal bread,many breakfast cereals,nuts,seeds and bran.

Particularly good sources of fibre are bran,vegetable,beans and oats