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