Over the past couple of months we've covered the importance of vitamins
and minerals in the diet and making sure the food, and supplements if
necessary, we have stored for our family will meet our future needs.
Eating a well-balanced, nutritious diet and supplementing as the need
arises will go a long ways toward preventing many diseases. Another
item that we need to take a look at is one that's included on the
nutrition facts label of all packaged foods sold in this
country--dietary fiber.
Dietary fiber occurs in soluble and insoluble forms. Both come from
plants, but those well-meaning supplement manufacturers also provide
fiber in a bottle. Don't succumb to the temptation of getting your
fiber from a bottle. It is far, far better for the body to obtain the
necessary dietary fiber from foods.
It shouldn't be surprising that dietary fiber is sorely lacking in the
average American diet; the recommended daily dietary fiber consumption
for Americans is about half of what is needed. People know they should
be eating more fruits and vegetables and whole grains, but hey, life's
busy and it's easier to put those changes off until later. Making bowel
movements easier and reducing the risk of colorectal cancer can wait.
Constipation's a drag, but if that's all that resulted from a low-fiber
diet, it would be manageable. Unfortunately, there can be other
consequences. One of these is called diverticular disease, and it
encompasses diverticulosis and diverticulitis. Diverticulosis results
in the formation of sacs or pouches in the colon, and it affects about
10% of Americans over the age of 40. Because it is not painful and
causes no symptoms, most are blissfully unaware that they have it and
that they are at risk for developing diverticulitis. Somewhere between
10 and 25% of those with diverticulosis will go on to develop
diverticulitis, so between 1 and 2.5% of all people over the age of 40.
Diverticulitis is what happens when those pouches become inflamed or
infected. At best diverticulitis is painful but only requires bed rest
and dietary changes. Severe diverticulitis may require hospitalization,
intravenous antibiotics, and even surgery, none of which may be
available post-collapse.
The risk factors for developing diverticular disease, as far as diet is
concerned, are high animal protein/high fat diets that are very low in
fiber. Obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, age, genetics, smoking,
steroids, and opiates may also contribute.
However, Metamucil is not the answer.
A sudden increase in dietary fiber intake, such as an individual
chugging Metamucil, can cause problems on the other end of the spectrum,
especially if adequate water is not consumed as well. What may develop
in this situation is called a bezoar. Bezoars are clumps of fiber,
like hairballs in cats. While the cat can cough up a hairball, people
can rarely eliminate bezoars on their own. Surgical intervention is
usually required. Bezoars can occur due to medications, hair,
dietary/supplemental fiber, and milk. Most come from fiber, and most
often they occur in individuals with decreased intestinal motility due
to gastroparesis, diabetes, ulcers, hypothyroidism, and those who have
undergone gastric surgery or don't chew their food well, perhaps due to
missing teeth. But they also occur when there is a sudden increase in
dietary fiber, like going from a typical American diet to one heavy in
whole grains and beans. However, the most frequent cause of
phytobezoars, bezoars due to dietary fiber, is eating persimmons. When
there are a lot of persimmons on the tree that are going to go to waste,
resist the temptation to eat them by the boatload. Yes, if you read
any of the articles below, you'll see that Coca-Cola has been shown to
break up some phytobezoars. But it has never been found to be effective
on bezoars due to persimmons.
All aspects of planning our food storage to meet dietary needs for
vitamins and minerals, as well as fats, carbohydrates, and proteins are
important. Fiber is no different. For optimal health and well-being,
adequate fiber intake needs to be assured as well.
Related posts:
Dietary Deficiency--Carbohydrate
Dietary Deficiency--Fat
Dietary Deficiency--Protein
Hypothyroidism
For further reading (all articles accessed on 1 March 2019):
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4400622/ (types of bezoars and use of Coca-Cola to remove them)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28031856 (bezoars and endoscopic removal)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29085697 (Metamucil-induced bezoar and laparascopy)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25817461 (bezoars)
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26361425 (bezoars)
24 april 2019
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