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Fabulous Fibre Gets Things Moving
by author Steve Meyerowitz

Fibre is not the most fashionable of foods. It’s not as noble as protein, not as satisfying as fat and not as tempting as sugar or starch. But when you have to get things moving, who do you call? Not the mighty garlic. Not the esteemed echinacea. Just "bring on the bran" and watch your troubles glide away!

Fibre is the cellulose, sinewy or bulky portion of fresh fruits and vegetables. It is found in virtually every food that grows. Fibre is available from grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, sea vegetables, nuts and seeds. Even some herbs are fibrous. They form a gummy, gelatinous substance (mucilage) that creates bulk. Seeds like psyllium, flax and chia, and herbs such as mullein, comfrey and slippery elm are all sources of gelatinous fibre.

Civilized societies are deficient in fibre because of their excessive dependence on packaged and processed foods. Grains are the most abundant source of fibre in the world. But processing removes the bran or jacket that is the fibrous portion. By removing it, along with the nutrient-rich "germ," only the sticky gluten part of the grain is left. While this is great for bakers (gluten holds together rising bread) it’s bad for people. Gluten adheres to the walls of the intestines like plaster and blocks the absorption of nutrients.

The average North American eats only 15 grams of fibre per day, while 30 to 40 grams is recommended. A refined flour diet, along with high saturated fat consumption, goes hand in hand with increased risk of modern afflictions such as cancer, heart disease, high cholesterol and hypertension, to name a few. The consumption of whole grains as opposed to processed flour is the difference between the primitive and the industrialized diet. Primitive eaters have no colon cancer.

Fabulously Fibre

While fibre may not be stylish, it is fabulously functional. Toxic buildup in the colon is arguably the number one contributing factor to the development of colon and other cancers. Our digestive tracts generate toxins every day as byproducts of decaying food. Intestinal transit time is crucial. If food is delayed too long before being excreted, some of their waste products are reabsorbed. Not only that, but putrefying food becomes a breeding ground for bad bacteria, parasites and fungi such as candida. (Just think what happens when you leave rotting food lying around in your kitchen!)

Don’t let your colon become a cesspool. If putrefactive bacteria become too populous, they eventually sneak into your bloodstream. The result of this sad sequence of events is diseases of the liver, stomach, colon, thyroid and pancreas and a debilitated immune system. Fibre to the rescue! Fibre grabs hold of these microbial toxins like a sponge and pushes them through our intestines like a locomotive. Once on board, there is no getting off. Researchers tell us that wheat bran, psyllium seed and pectin (from apples) protect against the development of colon cancer.

A Disease Fighter

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Steve Meyerowitz is the author of several books on health including Water: the Ultimate Cure, Wheatgrass: Natureâ€™s Finest Medicine and Power Juices Super Drinks. Visit his Web site at Sproutman.com.

Source: alive #228, October 2001

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