High fiber foods contribute at least five basic benefits toward creating a healthy body. Adding high fiber foods, fiber drinks and fiber supplements to the diet helps improve digestion, lowers risks for diabetes and heart disease, and contributes to natural weight loss. With such benefits from high fiber foods, it is difficult to understand why most people do not consume enough fiber.

For some time, experts have been claiming that people do not consume enough high fiber foods and that consuming more fiber can have profound effects. However, many people do not even understand what healthy high fiber foods are, and why eating them is a healthy thing to do.

Fiber is a natural part of some foods that the body does not break down all the way. The best high fiber foods are plants, like fruits, vegetables and whole grains. While high fiber foods get masticated and become smaller, the fiber is not absorbed into the blood stream. Instead, it travels from one end of the digestive system to the other, doing several very important jobs along the way.

1. High fiber foods take a little longer to chew, meaning that they slow down the speed of consumption. This provides the body time to be satiated and helps prevent over consumption and weight gain.

2. When high fiber foods are consumed and make their way to the stomach they merge with all the other food, slowing down the time it takes for nutrients to enter the blood stream One crucial element that slows down is the absorption of sugar, which means it enters the blood stream at a moderately level speed, keeping the blood sugar levels from rising and falling too much too fast. So, in addition to affecting moods and energy levels, high fiber foods also help prevent strain on the pancreas, which can hold off diabetes.

3. The longer it takes for high fiber foods to be processed in the stomach also means that an individual feels content and full for a longer period of time. Again, this helps prevent overeating and obesity.

4. As high fiber foods proceed through the digestive system, the small particles actually clean the walls of the intestinal tracts, removing a lining of mucus and excess waste that halts other more valuable nutrients from reaching the bloodstream. This works to prevent irritations that can lead to polyps and tumors, as well as removing toxins that can lead to numerous diseases.

5. At the end of the digestive process, high fiber foods collect waste materials and move them out of the body. A mixture of high fiber foods and proper hydration assures a healthy and efficient elimination process that keeps the body functioning properly.

It is suggested by experts that the average individual should consume 25 to 35 grams of fiber daily, yet most individuals only get about half that amount. The best sources of fiber are naturally high fiber foods, but there are good fiber supplements, too. Fiber drinks are another choice and they can make it even easier to consume the recommended daily amount of high fiber foods.