The Benefits of a High Fiber Diet
The benefits of a high fiber diet are legendary and include weight loss, lowering cholesterol levels, reducing the risk of diabetes, a 40% risk reduction in the incidence of Crohn’s disease, as well as reducing inflammatory bowel disease in general. (1)
Heart disease still remains the leading cause of death for both men and women in this country. The percent of seniors (age 65 and order) with diabetes is now at 25.9%. Crohn’s Disease affects nearly 1.4 million Americans. Gastrointestinal issues is the second leading cause of emergency room visits. It’s well established Americans in general don’t get enough fiber in their diet. (2)
Roberts et al. (2010) state that maintaining a healthy gastrointestinal barrier is key to reducing the risk of chronic inflammatory bowel disease. (1) And, that a good fiber intake is part and parcel to ensuring a strong gut barrier function.
Specifically, how does our Beta Glucan Synbiotic help to stop the breaching of the intestinal barrier by bad bacteria such as pathogenic E.coli and the ensuing chronic inflammatory condition?
Betaglucan fibers come in both short and long lengths. The shorter fibers function as a primer to the immune system. That is they support the up-regulation of the innate immune system and help to balance both the adaptive and the innate immune systems, reducing the risk of autoimmune disease.
The longer fibers form a matrix within the mucus layer. This mesh provides a productive home for the lactic acid probiotic organisms, allowing them to reproduce rapidly. The beta glucan fibers by nature are slightly acidic and the lactic acid bacteria add to this acidification of the mucus layer by producing lactic acid as a metabolite. The net result of this is the creation of an inhospitable environment for E. coli.
This close proximity to the epithelium enables these good probiotic bacteria to colonize the GI membrane cells taking up receptor sites, a furthering of the protection against colonization by pathogens.
Fourth, these good pedigreed probiotics produce bacterocins (antibiotic like substances) that inhibit the growth and even kill E. coli and other bacterial and yeast pathogens.
And finally, these good bugs stimulate our GI tract immune system to increase its protective mucus covering while add secretory IgA molecules to bind, identify and kill pathogens. Good bacteria and fiber are crucial in winning the battle to keep our intestinal barrier healthy.
How does fiber also protect us against heart disease and diabetes?
Briefly, the case of CVD, the betaglucan fibers lower the bloods levels of bad (LDL) cholesterol, and the red beet root fiber contains betalains which facilitate an increase in production good (HDL) cholesterol so that overall blood lipid level improve relative to heart disease risk.
In the case of diabetes, the Betaglucan product, if taken before a meal, will cause the slowing down of absorption of sugar, thereby reducing the risk of both high blood sugar spikes and resulatant insulin spikes.
Good bugs and good fiber properly conceived, as in the Beta Glucan Synbiotic, make for a very effective product.
(1) Roberts et al. (2010). Translocation of Crohn’s disease Escherichia coli across M-cells: contracting effects of soluble plant fibres and emulsifiers. Gut; 59:1331-1339.
(2) U.S.Department of Health and Human Services (2014). The Nutrients: How Much? FDA Website: Part 3 and 4.
Clinical Notes:
A very exciting feature regarding the Therapeutic Food line of products is that they are specific in their applications and multidimensional in their benefits. Let’s look at the Beta Glucan Synbiotic as an example.
It contains five pedigreed, highly researched and historic, strains of lactic acid bacteria. We’ve even added more bacterial count so that the CFU (Colony Forming Units) per 2 tablespoons is now at 176 billion. The other ingredient to carry the good bugs is fiber—oat bran (concentrated for the soluble betaglucan fiber), inulin (a soluble fiber derived from organic chicory root) and organic red beet root fiber (which contains both soluble and insoluble fibers plus the very powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant betalain molecules.
To support the prevention and even the reversal of the above discusssed medical conditions take one tablespoon twice a day before your two largest meals.
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