Get me summa that Fiver!

Here is some information I dug up on fiber and it's effects on the body.... just kind of interesting and thought I'd pass it along.

So what constitutes fiber? Well you have probably heard it called roughage in the past, but today scientists and the general public use the term fiber. Fiber is a type of un-digestable complex carbohydrate found in plants. Fiber is not considered a food; fiber in itself has no caloric value because the body cannot digest or absorb it. Therefore, high fiber foods have a tendency to be low in fat and are typically low in calories e.g. foods such as fruits and vegetables. Fiber can be divided into two categories according to their physical characteristics and affects on the body: there are the water insoluble ('course' fiber) and muciligenic types. Each form functions differently and provides different health benefits. The insoluble fibers, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin are not soluble in water.

Muciligenic fibers such as gums, cereals and pectin's are more soluble in water. Our intestines function as our body's own waste disposal system. Food in liquid form moves from the small intestine into the colon for final processing. Here most of the water and minerals are re-absorbed, leaving the semi-solid waste which is evacuated through the rectum. Any breakdown in the intestine's natural cleansing process is accompanied by risks of poor food assimilation and toxicity build-up. Highly refined foods, including sugar and white flour, make us susceptible to intestinal problems such as colitis, constipation, diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, irritable bowel (IBS) and Crohn's disease. These types of disorders are rare in parts of the world where native foods provide many times more fiber than the modern highly processed diet we have here in the U.S.

This information was taken from Life-Cleanse.com (check their site out by clicking the link to the right).