Fibre and Vegetables

Fibre

Dietary fibre is solely derived from foods of plant origin. There are two types of fibre, soluble, which can dissolve in water and insoluble, which cannot dissolve in water. This is important because insoluble fibre is not digested or absorbed by the body but will help to keep your gastrointestinal tract clean and promotes regular bowel movements. It does this by drawing water into the stools to make them larger but softer to pass.

Soluble fibre slows the breakdown of complex carbohydrates such as starches into simple sugars such as glucose. The benefit of this is that it slows the absorption of sugars and reduces the sugar level in the blood. During digestion soluble fibre forms a gel like mass that binds cholesterol to the stool and so may help lower cholesterol in your blood.

Benefits of Fibre?

Foods high in fibre often take longer to eat and they also increase the feeling of fullness as they slow down the passage of food through the intestine. They slow the release of glucose from food and this improves the blood-sugar response to food giving us steady flows of energy and avoiding energy lulls during the day and especially during training sessions.

Cooking Vegetables

Vegetables are freshest immediately after being picked and so at this point their vitamin density is at its highest. To get the best from vegetables we need to eat them as soon as possible from when they are picked. For this reason frozen vegetables are a good option to use for your evening meal. When you have fresh vegetables always remember to store them in a cool dark place as it is the light and heat that increases degradation. Also boiling vegetables spoils water soluble vitamins such as vitamin C and vitamin B2 so keep this to a minimum or even better steam your vegetables.

Phytonutrients

Sometimes known as Phytochemicals, these are naturally occurring and are found in foods of plant origin. (phyto is derived from the greek word for plant) Recent studies have shown that a portion of vegetables can contain as many as 100 different phytonutrients and that people consuming diets rich in these chemicals have a lower incidence of many disorders such as CV disease and cancer. Phytonutrients also have a high antioxidant effect and this will help to protect the immune system