The consumption of dietary fiber can have an impact on the absorption of nutrients. The physicochemical properties of dietary fiber, such as fermentation, volume capacity, binding capacity, viscosity and gel formation, water retention capacity and solubility, all affect nutrient absorption. Generally speaking, fiber supplements can reduce or delay the body's absorption of certain medications. To avoid this, it is recommended to take medications at least one hour before or two to four hours after taking fiber. However, if you are taking a fiber supplement, the situation is different.
Fiber passes through the digestive system without being digested or absorbed. If there is a lot of fiber and medicine in the intestine at the same time, the drug may be carried along with the fiber and excreted instead of being completely absorbed. To make additional health claims, some orange juice producers have started adding calcium supplements. A study found that after six weeks, people who followed a high-fiber diet had better control of blood glucose, insulin, and blood lipids. If you are healthy and not affected by this, you can continue eating what you have been eating all along but reduce your fiber intake.
People with esophageal stenosis (narrowing of the esophagus) or any other narrowing or obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract should not take fiber supplements. The researchers examined the results of eight clinical trials involving more than 600 subjects with high cholesterol who consumed soluble fiber supplements or a placebo. One study found that when people taking simvastatin (Zocor) added psyllium supplements to their diet, they reduced cholesterol levels as much as if they had been taking a double dose of simvastatin. Psyllium is a type of soluble fiber that has many beneficial properties. It acts as a bulking agent, a powerful laxative, a blood sugar regulator and a cholesterol reducer. A diet rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables, and whole grains) reduces the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, and diabetes.
Eating too much fiber can prevent the body from absorbing the nutrients it needs but this is an unlikely scenario for most people. If you want to live long and well but cannot recreate Sardinia or Okinawa in your backyard, read Fiber Menace and follow the suggestions in the Nutrition Ingredients of Longevity essay. Soluble fiber can be found in dried beans and peas, oats, barley, legumes, fruits, flaxseed and psyllium seed shells. If you take tricyclic medications, talk to your doctor before taking fiber supplements or adding more fiber to your diet. Refined or processed foods such as fruit juices, white breads, pasta, rice and non-whole grains have less fiber. Sequential effects of a high-fiber diet with psyllium husks on the expression levels of liver genes and plasma lipids.