| Fiber and Brain Health | | | | down the time it takes food to leave the stomach |
| As we age, our bodies begin to deteriorate. No | | | | and delaying the absorption of glucose (blood sugar) |
| matter how well we take care of ourselves, we | | | | from a meal. |
| become slower, more fragile, and our mental capacity | | | | Finally, because it helps to block the absorption of |
| suffers. The good news, however, is that a diet rich | | | | calories consumed and lead those calories out of the |
| in high-fiber foods may help support brain and bone | | | | body, fiber actually eliminates calories from the foods |
| healthtwo of the most common concerns among | | | | you eat. As a result, those who consume a high-fiber |
| elderly Americans. | | | | diet tend to lose weight and more effectively |
| More than 4.5 million Americans suffer from | | | | manage a healthy body weight. |
| Alzheimers disease, and every year more than | | | | Fiber and Bone Health |
| 350,000 new cases are diagnosed in the United | | | | Can high-fiber foods keep your bones strong? When |
| States. While its affect on memory and personality | | | | researchers turned their attention to the bone health |
| are profound, Alzheimers can also be deadly, resulting | | | | of people taking part in the long-term Framingham |
| in approximately 60,000 die deaths yearly. | | | | Heart Study conducted in Massachusetts, they found |
| By the middle of the twenty-first century more than | | | | that those who ate the most fruits and vegetables |
| 13 million U.S. citizens are expected to have this | | | | also had the strongest bones as they aged. |
| irreversible brain disorder, but a high-fiber that includes | | | | According to Associate Professor of Nutrition at |
| plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, | | | | Tufts University Katherine L. Tucker PhD, this |
| nuts and seeds may be effective in lowering your | | | | provides yet another reason to emphasize the intake |
| risk of developing Alzheimers as you age. | | | | of fruits and vegetables. |
| Swedish scientists have established that people who | | | | Although the healthy bone benefits of high-fiber fruits |
| effectively control their weight, cholesterol, and blood | | | | and vegetables may be linked to the beneficial |
| pressure can significantly decrease the risk of | | | | amounts of potassium and magnesium that they |
| suffering from dementia and Alzheimers disease, and | | | | contain, researchers cannot rule out other factors, |
| thats where high-fiber foods come in. In addition to | | | | such as fiber, as an aid to bone strength. |
| regulating blood pressure, fiber helps to lower LDL | | | | An important discovery in the study was that people |
| (bad) cholesterol levels while raising the protective | | | | who ate large amounts of processed foods (that are |
| HDL (good) cholesterol levels. | | | | low in fiber and minerals) had weaker bones. Eating a |
| As a calorie-free weight loss tool, fiber helps manage | | | | low-fiber diet also makes you more likely to be |
| hunger by stimulating the release of cholecystokinin | | | | among the nearly 30 million Americans who suffer |
| (CCK), a hormone that sends a message to your | | | | from osteoporosis, a degenerative bone disease that |
| brain that you are full. It also promotes and prolongs | | | | often occurs in middle age. Osteoporosis can often |
| the elevation of CCK in the blood, which makes you | | | | lead to debilitating hip fractures, which in many cases |
| feel full for longer periods of time. High-fiber foods | | | | cause disability and an overall deterioration of health. |
| also help normalize blood glucose levels by slowing | | | | |