Fibre in Food- What's good about it?

What is fibre?

Fibre is an indigestible form of carbohydrate that is found in both plants and nuts. Some are soluble making it possible to be absorbed into our body system after consuming it, while others are not. It is found in many plants and nuts in varying amount.

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There are two types of fibre. Soluble, and insoluble fibre.

Soluble fibre is found in many beans and some fruits. It’s called soluble because it dissolves in water and forms a gel like material in the intestine. This gel like material binds to fatty acid and bile acid, thus reducing blood cholesterol level. Soluble fbres help in reducing rate of digestion. When the digestion process is slowed, it reduces spikes in blood glucose level. 

This helps in regulating body sugar level which is beneficial for people with diabetes and prevent high sugar level in others.

Several studies have backed this effects of soluble fibres. This positive effect of preventing the rapid rise of blood sugar has been shown by many research studies. Recently, a group of scientists from Warwick Medical School looked at 23 scientific studies done on the effects of fibres on blood cholesterol level as well as blood pressure. 

"aiming for 30g of soluble fibre per day has been proven to reduce blood cholesterol level and help in blood sugar control"

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They concluded that increasing dietary fibres improves blood cholesterol as well as surprisingly reducing diastolic blood pressure.  Diastolic blood pressure is the denominator of the blood pressure reading, and it’s best kept below 90mmHg to prevent the heart from pumping too hard.

What is the role of Insoluble Fibre?

while this form of fibre does not dissolve to be taken into the blood stream it has benefits on stool formation. One consumed it works in the large bowel by absorbing water and contributing to ‘bulking the stools’. This relieves constipation.

Where do we get fibres from?

Best method of getting the fibre is by eating the food rich in fibre. Recommended fibre intake by the US Department of Health is 14g per 1000 calorie. This roughly translates to about 28 to 35g of fibre intake per day, depending on your calorie intake.

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So which food has the highest amount of fibre? Navy beans contain the highest amount of fibre. According to US Department of Health, cooked navy beans have 9.6g of soluble and insoluble fibre in half cup. 

Apart from fibre, navy beans are also filled with Vitamin C, Vitamin E and Iron. Chickpeas are also rich in fibres. It contains 8.1g of fibre in ½ cup.

Locally available fruits such as papaya and durian are rich in fibre too. Banana contains 3.1g of fibre in each. Papaya has 2.1g of fibre, and durian has approximately 1g of fibre in each of its seeds.

As we know , soluble fibre is more effective in controlling blood cholesterol level along with reducing blood sugar. Among fruits, passion fruit has the highest amount of soluble fibre with 6.5g of fibre per 125ml juice. Avocado contains 2.1 g of fibre in half fruit.

In conclusion, aiming for 30g of soluble fibre per day has been proven to reduce blood cholesterol level and help in blood sugar control. Let’s choose fibre rich food to be added in our diet and live a healthy life!

For Further Reading

US Dietary Guidelines 2015 –http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/

Food Sources rich in soluble fibre, by Dietitians of Canada - 

http://www.dietitians.ca/Downloads/Factsheets/Food-Sources-of-Soluble-Fibre.aspx

Systemic review on dietary fibre’s effect on cardiovascular health http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26758499

Anti-diabetic properties of bittermelon

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Bitter melon or bitter gourd originated from India and was introduced to many parts of the world. It is widely known for its medicinal benefits. Let's see the top 3 scientifically proven benefits of bitter gourd or  "Momordica charantia". 

 

1.     Acts as a natural anti-diabetic

Two studies have proven that bitter gourd helps in diabetes mellitus by working the same way as diabetic medications. 

Study by Chandru S et al compared the efficacy of bitter gourd juice and glitazone (a type of diabetic drug) in diabetic rats. In animal studies, it is shown that bitter gourd juice had reduction in blood sugar and was comparable with glitazone. 

Authors of this study postulate that bitter gourd juice works by increasing insulin sensitivity and causing the pancreas to secrete more insulin. 

"Bitter gourd juice proves to reduce blood sugar level"

Study by Rahman IU et al also reported similar findings among patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. 95 patients in this study took 2g (60mls) or 4g(120mls) of bitter gourd juice daily for 10 weeks. Both groups had blood sugar reduction. Their HBA1C level dropped along with fasting blood glucose level. 

Fuangchan A et al studied the effect of bitter melon and compared it to Metformin 1g, a standard first line medication for diabetes mellitus type 2. They proved that bitter melon juice has blood sugar reducing properties but not as strong as Metformin. This suggests that bitter melon juice can be used as supplement for sugar control in people with diabetes.

2. Added values in people with complications of diabetes

Raish M et al studied the effects of bitter melon juice  on the progression of diabetic kidney disease. Normally in patients with uncontrolled diabetes, many complications develop over time. 

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Kidney failure is one of it, and it causes many patients to be dependent on dialysis machine for the rest of their life. Other than that some patients develop nerve problems, in which patients will feel numbness and tingling over their feet. Some may even lose balance.

In his study, it was shown that bitter melon given by mouth improves kidney function in rats. Scientists suggest that bitter melon provides kidney protection by reducing the high sugar level and also by reducing the oxidative damages to kidney. But more research will be needed to find out if bitter gourd will be effective in patients with complications.  

Study by Kim JW also proves that kidney functions improves with bitter melon juice . This study

focuses mainly on combined effect of oats and bitter melon on sugar level and diabetic nephropathy. But significant reduce in blood sugar and protective effects on kidneys are shown even in rats that were only treated with bitter melon juice. But again, this study did not talk on those with established kidney disease. 

From preliminary information available largely from animal studies, it appear that bitter melon juice helps in reduction of blood sugar level and prevention of diabetic kidney disease. Bitter melon juice has anti-oxidant properties and anti-diabetic properties which help to achieve this. 

How to prepare fresh bitter melon juice

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Use unripe fresh bitter melon

Wash thoroughly, cut the melon and remove the seeds

 Use electric juicer to extract the juice

This method is used in the study by scientists Rahman et al.  

They prepared the bitter melon juice in this manner, and proceeded to freeze it to make it into powder form but it' s not necessary for personal use. 

They discovered anti-diabetic benefits at 2g of bitter gourd juice powders. 2g of powder is equivalent to 60mls of bitter gourd juice. 

For further reading:

Lower hypoglycemic but higher antiatherogenic effects of bitter melon than glibenclamide in type 2 diabetic patients.

Hypoglycemic effect of bitter melon compared with metformin in newly diagnosed type 2  diabetes patients

Synergic effects of bitter melon and β-Glucan composition on STZ-induced rat diabetes and its complications.

Momordica charantia polysaccharides mitigate the progression of STZ induced diabetic nephropathy in rats.

Evaluation of Protein Kinase Cβ and PPARγ Activity in Diabetic Rats Supplemented with Momordica charantia