Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that consists of cellulose,
pectin, gum, mucilage, hemicellulose, and lignin. You don’t
completely digest and absorb fiber, because you don’t have the
enzymes required to disassemble it. For that reason, fiber
accounts for less than the four Calories per gram of other
carbohydrates. Fiber helps you maintain an ideal weight by
absorbing water, slowing the emptying of your stomach, and
adding volume to food so that you feel full longer. Foods high
in fiber often require more chewing, so it takes more time to
eat, and you can’t eat a large number of calories in a short
amount of time. It helps to prevent diabetes by slowing the
entrance of glucose into the bloodstream, reducing glucose and
insulin spikes after meals. Fiber helps prevent deaths from
coronary heart disease. Fermentation of fiber and resistant
starch by bacteria in the large intestine helps to prevent
colorectal cancers. There are two types of fiber: soluble and
insoluble. Fiber in cell walls is insoluble in water. T