Dietary fiber plays an important role in the adequate function of the gastrointestinal tract and has been advocated for improved bowel function since the early 1970s. That it improves nutrition and health is without dispute.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends:
*For women, 25grams per day under age 50 and 21 grams per day over age 50.
*For men, 38 grams per day under age 50 and 30 grams per day over age 50.
Vegetables supply dietary fiber, and fiber intake is linked to lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and obesity. Vegetables also supply vitamins and minerals to the diet and are sources of phytochemicals that function as antioxidants, phytoestrogens, and antiinflammatory agents and through other protective mechanisms.
Studies indicate that fibers from fruits and vegetables produce some of the same effects as the addition of cereals to the diet, promoting regularity through significantly increased fecal weight and decreased fecal transit time.
Foods rich in fibre have also the capacity of binding bile acids, metabolites of cholesterol, which plays an important role in the digestion and absorption of lipids in the small intestine.
The primary bile acids known as cholic and queno-deoxycholic acids are dehydrolized and converted to the secondary bile acids called deoxycholic and lithocholic acids respectively. These compounds play a decisive role in the etiology of the colon cancer.
Fiber in vegetable
From Canned Foods to Gatorade: The Legacy of Stokely-Van Camp
-
Stokely-Van Camp, Inc. holds a distinguished place in American food
industry history, tracing its origins to two pioneering companies: the Van
Camp Packing...