Fruits with dietary fiber
One of the common food sources of fiber is fruit. Intake of fiber through fruits now associated with decreased low-density lipoprotein (LDL)- cholesterol, lower insulin demand, increased stool bulk, softening of fecal contents, and improved laxative properties.
Types of fiber: Insoluble fiber and Soluble fiber
Insoluble fiber passes through the gut quickly.
• It can prevent constipation
• It can help prevent infections of the gut.
• It can also help prevent hemorrhoids, heart disease and may prevent some types of cancer
• Soluble fiber – includes pectins, gums and mucilage, which are found mainly in plant cells. One of the good sources of soluble fiber include fruits.
Soluble fiber acts like a sponge in the gut.
• The soluble fiber in foods, such as oats, binds with cholesterol and removes it from the blood streams.
• It can help lower blood sugar because it slows how fast foods are digested. So, it is important if person have diabetes.
• It may help firm stool and reduce diarrhea
Citrus fruit contains anywhere from 0.5% to 3.5% pectin with a large concentration located in the peel. Pectin is a water-soluble polysaccharide that bypasses enzymatic digestion of the small intestine but is easily degraded by the microflora of the colon.
The pear is a popular type of fruit that is both tasty and nutritious and it’s one of the best fruit sources of fiber. Fiber content in pear: 5.5 grams in a medium-sized pear, or 3.1 grams per 100 grams.
While apples, bananas, oranges, strawberries all have around 3 to 4 grams of fiber per 100 grams.
Eating fresh fruit is better than drinking fruit juice because most of the dietary fiber in fruits is damaged when squeezing the juice.
Fruits with dietary fiber
