Fabulous fiber: nature's double-barreled assault on obesity and diabetes: dietary fiber plays a crucial role in weight control, diabetes, and digestion. It also helps protect against colon cancer. Eating a variety of whole, unrefined, plant-based foods is the best way to provide your body with the fiber it needs.

There's a portion of our food that goes right through our digestive system and ends up in the toilet without ever being used by any organ, cell, or tissue. Because it passes through the body without being absorbed by the blood, it has no value.

Such was the thinking, even of scientists, until the early 1970s. Today; we know better.

Fiber is the framework of plants. Removing it--part of our modern refining process--increases the caloric density of food and the efficiency and speed with which it's absorbed into the bloodstream. Therein lies the problem. The results of a diet low in or completely void of fiber opens the door wide for the rapid development of both obesity and diabetes.

What Does Fiber Do?

Fiber is involved in many of the body's digestive and metabolic processes. Here are just a few:

Insoluble fiber absorbs and holds water--from four to six times its own volume--creating soft, spongy masses in the stomach and small and large intestines. The result? A sense of fullness occurs much sooner than with low-fiber foods. This helps protect against overeating and weight gain.

Those fiber masses--acting like soaked-up sponges--fill the intestines more completely and stimulate them into action. Instead of your meal sitting in compacted clumps for several days in the gastrointestinal tract as with low-fiber foods, the spongy masses pass along much more quickly and are evacuated in 24 to 36 hours. This action cures constipation and significantly reduces problems with hemorrhoids and diverticular disease.

Because of the shorter transit time, less putrefaction (decomposition of organic material) occurs in the intestines. There's less time for carcinogens and other harmful end products of digestion to irritate the bowel walls.

Fiber also slows down the rate at which nutrients enter the bloodstream. This helps smooth out the ups and downs of blood sugar levels and provides more consistent energy throughout the day. A stabilized blood sugar relieves most hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and aids in the control of diabetes (high blood sugar).

Soluble fiber--the kind that does not absorb or hold water--on the other hand, affects blood cholesterol levels. It attaches itself to cholesterol and other by-products of fat digestion and pulls them right out of the body.

Without soluble fiber's action, most of the leftover cholesterol would be reabsorbed into the bloodstream, adding to the already high levels found in most Western foods.

Where do I find this fabulous fiber?

Most people are surprised to learn that animal products contain absolutely no fiber at all. Since meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy selections make up more than 30 percent of the calories in the typical Western diet--and much of the rest comes from sugars and other refined foods--the result is that most Westerners are getting less than one third of the fiber they need.

The good news is that fiber is abundant in all unrefined plant foods. Enjoying a variety of fruits, whole grains, vegetables, and legumes (beans, lentils, and peas) assures a plentiful supply of the many varieties of fiber the body needs.

How about if I process my fruits and vegetables in a juicer?

Seems like a good idea on the surface. Busy people who don't have time to prepare a complete sit-down meal toss piles of great-looking fresh produce into a little machine and--presto--beautiful juice.

While the nutrition is certainly there, nearly all the precious fiber--which the body needs so badly--is turned to pulp and usually gets dumped in the garbage can. This is reminiscent of the mills of 100 years ago that began removing bran and germ (fiber and nutrients) from grains, leaving low-fiber, nutrient-poor residues such as white flour and white rice. Unfortunately those foods are still the mainstay of much of the current world population, and we're paying a terrible price in reduced health for our lack of action.

Then I should add wheat, oat, rice, and other bran to my food, right?

Remember the oat-bran craze a few years back? Oat bran was billed as a quick fix for pulling down stubborn cholesterol levels. Food makers fell all over themselves to take advantage of this windfall. An oatmeal war broke out. Oat bran became scarce, and prices shot sky high. Soon, people grew tired of eating mush and muffins. While continuing studies didn't debunk oat bran as a valuable cholesterol-lowering substance, they did reveal that this "wonder food" held no advantage over the soluble fibers found in other foods that were much cheaper and more accessible such as beans and fruit.

In other words, extracted bran isn't a magical potion you can gulp down and expect to have your blood vessels reamed out. People who simply eat sufficient amounts of plant foods will receive all the fiber they need.

The same can be said about fiber supplements. It would take a whole bottle of fiber pills to supply the natural fiber contained in a bowl of whole-grain cereal topped with strawberries. Fiber isn't something you can sprinkle on a plate of steak and eggs. It's found in the food that God designed us to eat--the diet He created for Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

So what should I eat to help ward off diabetes and obesity?

Several treatment centers have convincingly demonstrated that most type 2 diabetics can normalize their blood sugar levels, often within weeks, by following a simple diet that's very low in fat and high in fiber, and exercising daily. What's good for diabetics is also good for those who are obese. Both of these conditions are linked in many ways. Both can be tamed using the same basic methods of treatment.

Lowering the amount of fat, oil, and grease in the diet plays a crucial role. For diabetics, when less fat is eaten, less fat reaches the bloodstream and the liver. This begins a complicated process that gradually restores the sensitivity to insulin, which can then facilitate the entry of sugar from the bloodstream into the body cells. The effect is often dramatic. A type 2 diabetic who lowers daily fat intake to about 10 percent of total calories can often bring blood sugar levels to normal ranges in less than eight weeks. Many individuals eventually get off diabetic medication entirely--both pills and injections.

Eating natural, fiber-rich foods plays an important role by helping stabilize blood sugar levels. When foods are eaten without their normal complement of fiber, blood sugar levels can quickly shoot up. Normally a surge of insulin counteracts this. People who consume refined foods, drinks, and snacks high in calories but low in fiber may experience hikes and dips in blood sugar levels all day long. High-fiber foods, on the other hand, smooth out these fluctuations and stabilize energy levels.

The treatment for obesity mirrors this process with just a few added strategies. Along with eating more foods "as grown" and prepared without loads of sugar, grease, and salt, overweight individuals can boost the rate at which calories are burned by increasing physical activity and muscle size. A plant-based eating plan, plus a brisk daily walk, will help you lose one to two pounds a week.

Eat More, Weigh Less

It's true! You don't have to eat less to cut calories. In fact, if you choose foods that are high in complex carbohydrates and low in fat (your basic fruits and vegetables), you can actually eat more than ever and still lose weight. That's good news if you're one of many who thinks going hungry is the only way to get and stay thin.

God, in His great wisdom, has already provided the tools we need to prevent or reverse diabetes and obesity. Those tools are inexpensive, simple to integrate into our lives, and abundantly available. We hold the key to our own health. Begin your journey back to optimum health today.

HOW TO BEAT TYPE 2 DIABETES 

Diabetes is a leading cause of new blindness, foot and leg amputations, and hearing impairment. The worst part is that many people suffer needlessly. Here's a proven formula that can help beat this disease.

CHOOSE MORE NATURAL FIBER-RICH FOODS, simply prepared, low in fat, grease, and sugar. Freely use whole-grain products, tubers, legumes, salads, and vegetables.

EAT A SUBSTANTIAL BREAKFAST DAILY. A hot multigrain cereal will curb your appetite for hours while stabilizing your blood sugar.

USE FRESH WHOLE FRUITS, but not more than three servings a day (if you have diabetes).

AVOID REFINED AND PROCESSED FOODS. They're usually high in fat and sugar, and low in fiber.

MARKEDLY REDUCE FATS, OILS, AND GREASE. Remove animal products from your diet completely. Avoid oily and creamy dressings and sauces.

WALK BRISKLY EACH DAY. Two 30-minute walks are ideal to help burn up the extra sugar in your blood.

WORK WITH A PHYSICIAN experienced in the effects of dietary therapy to monitor and adjust your insulin need.

This article is adapted from Health Power, Health by Choice Not Chance (Review and Herald) written by Aileen Ludington, M.D., a board-certified physician; and Hans Diehl, Dr.H.Sc., M.P.H., founder and director of the Lifestyle Medicine Institute in Loma Linda, California.