Due to people's fear of fine foods and their growing love for coarse foods, the price of coarse grains has become higher than that of fine grains. Indeed, coarse foods contain a large amount of dietary fiber. The fiber itself provides mechanical stimulation to the large intestine, promoting intestinal peristalsis and softening bowel movements for easier passage. These effects are beneficial for preventing colorectal cancer and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases caused by high blood lipids.
In addition, dietary fiber can bind with heavy metals and harmful metabolic products in the body and excrete them.
Moderate intake of dietary fiber is worthy of promotion. However, experts also warn that excessive intake of fiber is not good for the human body.
Firstly, dietary fiber not only hinders the absorption of harmful substances but also affects the human body's absorption of protein, inorganic salts, and certain trace elements from food. For example, when eating boiled or fried soybeans, the human body's absorption and digestion rate of protein is at most 50%. However, after processing soybeans into tofu, the absorption rate immediately rises to 90%. The principle lies in the fact that processing destroys the fiber components in the beans.
Secondly, long-term and excessive consumption of high-fiber foods can hinder the body's protein supplementation, lead to insufficient fat intake, and cause deficiencies in trace elements. This can result in damage to the functions of organs such as bones, the heart, and blood, and reduce the body's immune and disease-resistant capabilities. So, how much high-fiber food, or coarse food, is truly beneficial to the human body?
Nutritionists recommend that a healthy adult should consume 10 to 30 grams of dietary fiber per day. Vegetables with high fiber content include chives, celery, water bamboo, pumpkin, bitter gourd, red beans, water spinach, soybeans, and mung beans. Please consume them in moderation.