Nowadays there is a lot of awareness about eating healthy food. The knowledge about healthy and unhealthy foods is very widespread. We may not be eating that much healthy but we definitely know a lot about what we should really be eating.
Among different types of health foods, high fiber is a very important class. We probably have heard that one of the important ingredient missing in our daily diet is fiber. Typical western diet lacks fiber.
Our typical diet is high in protein, saturated fats and simple carbs. But it is usually very low in fiber and most of us do not get enough fiber from our food.
But this has been rapidly changing. We have started to consume more food containing fiber. Examples are certain vegetables, beans, lentils and certain ready-made cereals which contain high fiber. Even lots of snack foods are being offered in high fiber varieties today. Our diet is rapidly changing to adapt to the need for more fiber.
Fiber has many health benefits. Most of us are aware of its ability to relieve constipation. Fibers health benefits go well beyond constipation.
Fiber also helps lower bad cholesterol. It helps control blood sugar level and support a healthy body weight. It may even cut high blood pressure.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of fiber is that it helps reduce the risk of colon cancer through normalizing bowel movement and promoting a healthy bowel. Given such benefits, no wonder we all want to and should be increasing our fiber intake.
But there is one immediate downside to eating fiber. In light of all the great health benefits it can be thought of as only a minor nuisance, but still it is a downside of eating fiber.
As you may know, fiber is not digested in the small intestine. Fiber is usually fermented in the large intestine by bacterial colonies there. Fermentation always creates gas as a byproduct. Fiber digestion through fermentation inevitably causes gas.
How much gas is created and what type of gas is created depends on several factors like type of fiber that you have consumed and the type of large bacteria in your large intestine.
Most of the time we notice increased gas when we consume foods like beans or cabbage family of vegetables. And this increased gas doesn't pose much of a problem for us.
But many times, increase gas can lead to discomfort, bloating and pain in the abdomen. Large amounts of gas could cause a bit of discomfort for us.
Gas produced during fermentation makes its way out of our body. We call it flatulence. Escaping gas may be odorless and may not make sound while escaping. In such a case, flatulence is not a problem at all.
But the smell and sound of gas are something extremely difficult to control. It could be smelly and can a make loud sound. This could lead to very embarrassing situation. Given that we live and work in relatively dense environments, flatulence could cause increasingly embarrassing situations for us, once we start ramping up our fiber intake.
If you were living and working in open areas most of the time, this may not a big problem. For example people living forests or open rural settings may not have much to worry. Similarly in some work environments you have enough flexibility to move around such that you don't have to be stuck among people most of the time. An example could be construction work.
Most of us live in relative dense urban settings, where we are surrounded by people most of the time. We work in cramped small cubicles. Smelly flatulence is a particular problem for us.
This poses a dilemma. On one hand we would really like to eat healthy food with more fiber because of tremendous health benefits. But, it will always cause gas and likely discomfort and embarrassment.
In a way this phenomenon reinforces the notion that nothing comes free. You may think that consuming large amounts of foods high in fiber will help you gain multiple benefits like reduced colon risk, reduced cholesterol, better blood sugar levels and better weight.
Not so easily. Those benefits will come with pesky gas and lots of flatulence.
Again, this is not an argument for not eating high fiber food. The fiber benefits are invaluable. Who wouldn't want to cut the risk of colon cancer. It would be stupid to avoid fiber just to prevent gas.
It is just that one has to be aware of the effects of eating high fiber food. There will be gas produced with high fiber food.
There are certain steps you can take to reduce the amount of gas that is produced. By carefully choosing certain foods and preparing them in proper ways than consuming raw.
There are also certain types of fiber, which do not ferment in the large intestine, which means they do not produce gas and still provides you with the benefits of fiber. You can choose to consume more of such foods.
Each human being is unique, and what works for one may not work for others.
It is a catch twenty-two situation. Depending on how much flatulence you can tolerate, the dilemma could be severe, or it may not be much of a dilemma at all.
There are ways in which you can get lots of benefits of fiber without much of the discomfort and the unwanted side effects. If you are interested you can follow the link below to find out more.
Rimas Sony is a writer with expertise in human digestion. You can check out his latest website How to Stop Foul Smelling Flatulence, where he provides details, unbiased reviews and advice about how to stop flatulence problems and promote better digestive health.
