Dieticians often emphasise increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat, oats, legumes, etc.). These foods bring you plenty of healthy carbs, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and loads of fiber.
Over the past, our desi diets had plenty of fiber from whole wheat flour chapatis and legumes consumed daily. Yet, Pakistanis nowadays are consuming significantly less fiber. The reasons are variable, including the recent dietary changes to all-purpose flour, increased meat and poultry intake, and reduced legumes, fruit and vegetable intake. These changes simultaneously increased many lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes, heart ailments, colon cancers, and obesity.
The American Heart Association recommends consuming approximately 25-30 grams of Fiber daily. This fiber must come from various fiber-rich food sources, not supplements, to prevent all the chronic diseases mentioned previously.
A fiber-rich diet provides multiple benefits, such as weight maintenance. As fiber is often synonymous with the word bulk, it performs similar action, making you feel fuller for extended periods, decreasing your appetite and will to reach out for more food. Also, they attract water, forming gels in your insides, providing a protective layer and creating a smooth passage for foods to pass through. This action also helps reduce constipation and related bowel disorders. Food with high fiber content also tends to stay for longer in the gut, decreasing the rapid surge in blood glucose levels; that is why they are beneficial for people with diabetes. Moreover, it also lowers your cholesterol levels, helping against cardiovascular disorders.
If you are looking forward to increasing fiber in your diet, do it gradually, as a sudden increase can cause bloating, cramping and gas. You should increase your water intake by up to 8 glasses alongside gradually increasing your intake of fiber-rich foods. These can be slow steps like using whole wheat flour and whole wheat products instead of the highly processed made from all-purpose flour.
While doing grocery, opt for daal (legumes) with peels. Instead of fruit juices, try to have whole fruit with their skins, like apples and the white part of citrus fruits. You can make snacking healthy by having high-fiber-rich snacks like corn, popcorn, granola bars, nuts, and seeds. While cooking, make vegetable curries, add vegetables with meat curries, or have a bowl of vegetable salads with your regular foods, as vegetables are also great contributors to fiber.
Dietary changes take time. Slow, gradual steps daily can, however, make it possible to have a healthy and nutritious diet that reduces lifestyle-related disorders.
Over the past, our desi diets had plenty of fiber from whole wheat flour chapatis and legumes consumed daily. Yet, Pakistanis nowadays are consuming significantly less fiber. The reasons are variable, including the recent dietary changes to all-purpose flour, increased meat and poultry intake, and reduced legumes, fruit and vegetable intake. These changes simultaneously increased many lifestyle-related diseases like diabetes, heart ailments, colon cancers, and obesity.
The American Heart Association recommends consuming approximately 25-30 grams of Fiber daily. This fiber must come from various fiber-rich food sources, not supplements, to prevent all the chronic diseases mentioned previously.
A fiber-rich diet provides multiple benefits, such as weight maintenance. As fiber is often synonymous with the word bulk, it performs similar action, making you feel fuller for extended periods, decreasing your appetite and will to reach out for more food. Also, they attract water, forming gels in your insides, providing a protective layer and creating a smooth passage for foods to pass through. This action also helps reduce constipation and related bowel disorders. Food with high fiber content also tends to stay for longer in the gut, decreasing the rapid surge in blood glucose levels; that is why they are beneficial for people with diabetes. Moreover, it also lowers your cholesterol levels, helping against cardiovascular disorders.
If you are looking forward to increasing fiber in your diet, do it gradually, as a sudden increase can cause bloating, cramping and gas. You should increase your water intake by up to 8 glasses alongside gradually increasing your intake of fiber-rich foods. These can be slow steps like using whole wheat flour and whole wheat products instead of the highly processed made from all-purpose flour.
While doing grocery, opt for daal (legumes) with peels. Instead of fruit juices, try to have whole fruit with their skins, like apples and the white part of citrus fruits. You can make snacking healthy by having high-fiber-rich snacks like corn, popcorn, granola bars, nuts, and seeds. While cooking, make vegetable curries, add vegetables with meat curries, or have a bowl of vegetable salads with your regular foods, as vegetables are also great contributors to fiber.
Dietary changes take time. Slow, gradual steps daily can, however, make it possible to have a healthy and nutritious diet that reduces lifestyle-related disorders.