More fiber to lose weight: myth or reality?

Surely you have wondered on some occasion if fiber helps to lose weight. There are people who feel bloated when they increase their fiber intake, but at the same time we know that fiber satisfies and that it does not provide calories… What are we left with?

The answer is not as simple as a yes or a no. The truth is that fiber does not lose weight by itself, but it can help you lose weight. In other words, just because you eat more fiber will not make you lose weight like magic, but it is true that the fiber in food provides many dietary benefits.

4 reasons why fiber helps you fight overweight

These benefits of fiber explain that it can be useful when it comes to losing a few kilos:

Improves intestinal transit by retaining water. It favors the less absorption of sugars at the intestinal level, which consequently reduces the entry of calories into the organism. Fiber is found above all in plant foods, and these are poorer in calories and it takes us longer to eat them, because we have to chew them more, for what they give us increased feeling of satiety and we eat less. Once again, we ingest fewer calories this way. And the last explanation, but no less important, is that if we have a healthy gut microbiota, this will produce substances that will help us lose and maintain our weight. In fact, studies have shown that the intestinal flora of overweight people is different from that of people with a normal weight for their age and build. The fermentable fibers, with a prebiotic effect, contribute to the diversity and richness of the bacterial flora.

The more satiating fibers are the “viscous”, according to a study by the Department of Human Nutrition of the University of Wageningen (Holland).

These would include pectin (present in fruits such as apples, grapes, kiwi or citrus peel), guar gum, psylliumbetaglucans (whose main source is oats) and glucomannans (fibers that are extracted from the konjac root, with the capacity to absorb 200 times its weight in water).

The fermentable or prebiotic fibers They are mostly insoluble fibers. The most prominent is resistant starch, especially retrograde or type 3 starch.

There are also mucilages, present in seeds such as chia or flax; fructans from asparagus and artichokes; oat beta-glucans; the galactooligosaccharides of legumes, and the pectins of some fruits, especially cooked apples.

How to get the fiber you need

The World Health Organization establishes a daily intake of 20 to 30 grams of fiber to take care of the microbiota and protect the intestine.

It is considered that a food is “rich in fiber” when it exceeds 5 g per serving.

Look for good sources of high fiber foods such as whole grains, fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds.

90g of Red beans provide 6.7 g of fibre.A orange offers 7.2 g of fiber. 150 g of whole wheat spaghetti represent 7 g of fiber. 180 g of cooked broccoli7 g of fiber.

It is important include different types of fiber in your daily menu: insoluble, oligo and polysaccharides, resistant starch… All are prebiotics, the preferred food of our bacteria. A diet rich in fiber favors a diverse and varied microbiota.