fiber for heart health

Dietary fiber plays a crucial role in promoting heart health and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. It offers several benefits that contribute to overall cardiovascular well-being. Here's how fiber can positively impact heart health:

1. **Lowering Cholesterol Levels:** Soluble fiber, found in foods like oats, beans, lentils, and fruits, can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels (often referred to as "bad" cholesterol). Soluble fiber binds to cholesterol particles in the digestive tract, preventing their absorption into the bloodstream and facilitating their removal from the body. By lowering LDL cholesterol, soluble fiber reduces the risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and coronary heart disease.

2. **Regulating Blood Pressure:** A diet rich in fiber, particularly from fruits and vegetables, is associated with lower blood pressure. High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. The potassium content in many high-fiber foods also contributes to blood pressure regulation.

3. **Improving Blood Sugar Control:** High-fiber foods, such as whole grains and legumes, help regulate blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. This can be particularly beneficial for individuals with diabetes or those at risk of developing diabetes. Stable blood sugar levels reduce the risk of cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes.

4. **Weight Management:** Fiber-rich foods are often lower in calories and provide a feeling of fullness, which can aid in weight management and obesity prevention. Maintaining a healthy weight is essential for heart health, as excess body fat is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.

5. **Reducing Inflammation:** Chronic inflammation is a contributing factor to atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular conditions. Some types of fiber, such as antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables, can help reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.

6. **Promoting Gut Health:** A healthy gut microbiome is linked to heart health. Fiber acts as a prebiotic, nourishing beneficial gut bacteria. These bacteria can produce compounds that have a positive impact on heart health, such as short-chain fatty acids, which may help reduce inflammation and improve blood vessel function.

7. **Preventing Overeating:** Foods high in fiber tend to be more filling, which can prevent overeating and promote portion control. By reducing the consumption of high-calorie, unhealthy foods, a high-fiber diet supports overall heart health.

To incorporate more fiber into your diet for heart health:

- **Choose Whole Grains:** Opt for whole grains like brown rice, quinoa, whole wheat, and oats over refined grains.

- **Eat Plenty of Fruits and Vegetables:** Aim to fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables, which are excellent sources of fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants.

- **Include Legumes:** Beans, lentils, chickpeas, and other legumes are rich in both soluble and insoluble fiber.

- **Snack on Nuts and Seeds:** Almonds, chia seeds, and flaxseeds are high-fiber snacks that can benefit heart health.

- **Read Food Labels:** Pay attention to nutrition labels and choose products with higher fiber content.

- **Stay Hydrated:** Drinking plenty of water helps fiber do its job in the digestive tract, preventing constipation.

While increasing fiber intake is generally beneficial for heart health, it's essential to make dietary changes gradually and drink enough water to prevent digestive discomfort. Additionally, maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle, including regular physical activity and avoiding smoking, is essential for reducing the risk of heart disease. If you have specific dietary concerns or medical conditions, consult a healthcare provider or registered dietitian for personalized guidance on incorporating fiber into your diet.

Coronaryheart disease (CHD) is one cause of death in the world, including Indonesia. Increasing the number of deaths is influenced by changes in lifestyle. High-fiber diet helps prevent the deadly attacks.

Everyone is afraid of having a heart attack that could end in sudden death. Citing a report, in a seminar about the heart, Dr. Idris Idham, Sp.JP, FESC, said that more than one million people in the United States have heart attacks each year.

Half of them suffered death in the first hours after the attack. The other half managed to reach the hospital to get help and was treated in the Intensive Coronary Care Unit (ICCU) or also called Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit (Cardio Vascular Care Unit).

The mortality rate of patients admitted to hospital could reach about 15 percent, usually due to death (necrose) extensive heart muscle. Approximately 425 000 patients admitted to leaving the hospital, but approximately 10 percent (42 000 persons) of that amount has died after a year later.

According to Dr. Idris, a heart attack occurs when there is death of heart muscle caused by interruption of blood supply to the heart muscle. The incident was caused by blockage of one or more coronary arteries by blood clots. This blood clot called a thrombus. Coronary artery blockage caused another heart muscles do not get a blood supply with all the nutrients present in it, such as glucose, vitamins, and minerals, hormones and electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

Even so, you need not worry. To reduce the risk of disruption at the top, efforts can be made. The point is to always keep blood cholesterol levels can be a source of blockage of the coronary arteries, not high. Apart from using vitamin B3 (niacin), C and E, the effort can also be performed with high-fiber diet.

Fiber Benefits
First fiber is considered as The Forgotten nutrient because its function is unclear. However, as one component of food, fiber is now known to have an important role in maintaining health.

Fiber consists of two types, namely soluble and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber can not be digested by digestive enzymes, but soluble in hot water. Soluble fiber is what makes the stomach full longer and provide energy longer and also beneficial in lowering blood cholesterol levels. Commonly found in fruits and vegetables, especially serelia such as oats.

Insoluble fiber can not be digested and does not dissolve in hot water. Although can not be digested, says DR. Ali Khomsan, fibers have metabolic functions of essential nutrients. In the digestive tract, fiber helps food juice fermentation process. Fiber is beneficial to prevent constipation and is gentle to avoid the risk of colon and stomach cancer. This fiber contained in vegetables such as asparagus, peas, and serelia like oats.

Because it is not digested, fiber into the colon (large intestine) in one piece. Fiber reaches the colon in large volumes and require big place, causing a feeling of satiety. Therefore, the presence of fibers in the stomach and digestive tract will reduce the desire for someone to eat more, thereby preventing the occurrence of obesity risk.

According to Dr. Lanny Lestiani, Sp.G (K), MSc., A nutritionist from the Department of Nutritional Sciences Faculty of Medicine, University of Indonesia (Faculty of medicine), high-fiber diet helps lower cholesterol in the blood. Fibers useful in holding water and the viscosity in the digestive tract, will be converted into a gel in the intestine. The aim is to hold water so that people do not easily hungry.

Cooking Vegetables
DR. Ali Khomsan added fiber sources like vegetables and fruits easily be found in the daily menu. Vegetables can be consumed in raw form or after processing by boiling. Even so, the results of a student of Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), Rahayu, 1990, showed that dietary fiber in cooked vegetables actually increased compared with raw vegetables.

How could it be? The process of cooking it would eliminate some nutrients. In addition, the cooking process also causes a reaction in pencokelatan counted as a nutrient analysis of dietary fiber. This is what causes the cooked vegetables had a higher fiber content. In his research, Rahayu found that vegetables are boiled with water to produce the highest dietary fiber content (6.40 percent), steamed (6.24 percent), cooked with coconut milk (5.98 percent), and raw (5.97 percent).

In general, the fiber content reaches 32 percent in vegetables, fruits, 38 percent, wheat 32 percent and 25 percent peanuts. Said Dr. Lanny, the need for an Indonesian fiber is 10-14 gr/1.000 calories.

Oat Fibre
It is undeniable, Indonesia is now flooded with oat products, often called oatmeal, signed in serelia family. Compared to each 100 gram of rice contains 0.1 grams of soluble fiber and wheat, which is only 2.2 grams, per 100 grams of oat soluble fiber containing 5.1 grams. High in fiber makes oats deserve to be used as a choice for high-fiber diet.

As an illustration, a soluble fiber in the body can bind cholesterol and remove it from the body. Roles that can lower cholesterol levels in the blood, to reduce the risk of CHD. People who are obese can also combine oats with low cholesterol and fatty foods. Oats can be used in the form of oatmeal, biscuits, and bread.

How do oats reduce cholesterol levels in the blood? Here are brief descriptions:

1. In the liver, cholesterol is converted into bile acids, and then released into the small intestine to help digest fats from food consumed.

2. When mengasup oatmeal, oat soluble fiber in the intestine to form gels that bind fat, cholesterol, and bile acids.

3. Because bound by soluble oat fiber in the form of gels, some bile acids can not be absorbed back through the wall of the intestine, bile acids and then excreted through the large intestine, so that bile acids in the liver is reduced.

4. To replace the lost bile acids, the liver will pull cholesterol from the blood to produce bile acids.

5th. As a result, total blood cholesterol level will decrease.

6. With decreasing levels of blood cholesterol, the risk of CHD can be prevented.