HaCKeRz KrOnIcKLeZ 3/HaCKeRz_KrOnIcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/term/fibre.txt

Text File | 1996-04-27 | 3KB | 78 lines

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GUT ISSUES                          Life Sciences SIG
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We share many experiences with the kings of old:
pastries, for instance, and home entertainment and
vacation trips to far-off lands.  Ancient-day common
folk knew nothing of such things.  Then again, they
weren't constipated...

We are.  Not all of us, of course.  But enough
Canadians so that some doctors call our a
constipated society.  And even if you're not
constipated, your present day diet may be leading
you to more serious complaints like disorders of the
large intestine or colon.  These, too, were
afflictions of of the upper classes of old.  Why?
Because in general the rich refined their food, along
with their lives, and so stripped it of an odd but
essential ingredient called dietary fibre.

Like its fellow carbohydrates, the various types of
dietary fibre are the product of sunlight, water and
carbon dioxide combining in green plants.  Most form
part of plant cell walls.  But unlike the other
carbohydrates, fibres do not break down into sugars
in the human digestive system and then course through
the blood stream fueling muscles and nerves.  Rather,
when eaten they tumble intact through the stomach and
small intestine and end up in the colon where
billions of bacterial feed on them - in turn producing
intestinal gas.  No wonder, then, that dietary fibre
has been unwelcome in many of history's nicer
neighborhoods.

Even 20th century doctors reasoned that since the
bulky material provided not a single nutrient, it
would only strain already troubled guts.  Accordingly,
they recommended low-fibre diets for patients
suffering from hemorrhoids and other colon disorders
often found in the West.  But then, about 15 years ago,
the prescription was reversed as researchers found
that poor Africans, who eats lots of fibre, rarely
suffer from such complaints.  Fibre, the researchers
learned, actually eases the bowel's burden by mixing
with water and other food residues to create large,

Soon, nutritionists came to see the low-fibre diet of
most North Americans as a culprit in the onset of
disorders ranging from tooth decay to heart attacks.
Increasing the consumption of certain kinds of fibre,
they found, could slow the body's absorption of
sugars to which diabetics are sensitive, and of
cholesterol, which may lead to heart disease.

Furthermore, fibres fight obesity.  They're filling,
especially the pectins in citrus fruit and the gums
in some beans.  And they're mainly indigestible.  So
dieters eating lots of fibre are likely to eat less
of other, more fattening foodstuffs.

As for why populations on high-fibre diets seem to
experience fewer colon cancers, no one knows for sure.
In any case, there is no doubt that fibre is nature's
laxative, the dietary key to regularity.  Nutritionists
therefore advise you to stay away from foods
containing processed and refined ingredients such as
bleached flour and white sugar.  Remember that meats
contain little fibre and that overcooked vegetables
and fried foods have lost much of theirs.

Nevertheless, fibre supplements are usually unnecessary.
Merely ensure that your diet is full of fresh fruits
and vegetables - and some of the most fibrous foods
such as bran cereals, whole wheat breads, peas, beans
and lentils - and you, too, can eat like an old-time
pauper.