Fitness Gear: Are You Eating Too Much Fiber?

UltimateFitnessGear Posting Page

Thursday, March 26, 2009

While it is true that fiber is essential to include in your diet, consuming too much of it can actually have a negative affect. There are two types of fiber; soluble and insoluble and both are needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle. While there are numerous benefits to both kinds, eating too much can have a negative impact on your body.

The first problem of consuming too much fiber has to do with your cholesterol. One of the main functions of soluble fiber is to help remove cholesterol from the blood. However, there is some cholesterol that can actually be god for you and can protect the heart and brain. If you take in too much soluble fiber, it is going to remove the good and bad cholesterol leading to low levels of HDL cholesterol in your blood.

The next problem you will face is poor mineral absorption. Soluble fiber is also going to hold foods in the digestive tract longer so that nutrients can be absorbed. Too much of this fiber will have the opposite effect and can actually prevent your body from absorbing several minerals like calcium, iron and zinc.

Although it is not quite as serious but can be just as painful, constipation is another issue you need to worry about with an excessive fiber intake. Insoluble fiber promotes regular bowel movements that can reduce constipation. Consuming a lot of this can cause the water in your digestive tract to dry up. What this leads to is your stools drying up making it difficult to pass. This can present a problem with excreting waste minerals.

The final problem to be aware of when taking in too much fiber is gas. Both types of water are going to interact with water. What this leads to is gases being created like carbon dioxide, methane and hydrogen. A high amount of fiber can lead to intense levels of gases in the digestive tract causing a bloated stomach and passing gas frequently.

There is no doubt that the intake of fiber is extremely important. There are numerous benefits you will get from eating fiber including eliminating cholesterol from the blood and promoting regular bowel movements. However, much like many other things in life too much fiber can be detrimental. There are many side effects to be aware of including bloated stomach, constipation, and the elimination of good cholesterol. Because of this, be careful about the amount of fiber you are including in your diet.

ChaLEAN Extreme - P90X - P90X Plus - Power 90 Workout - 10 Minute Trainer - Shaun T - Ab Workout - Turbo Jam

Your Place For: Workout Routines - Workout DVDs - P90X