For food that's not digestible, fiber is certainly making a name for itself as an indispensable part of the diet.
While it cannot pass through the intestines, it stays in the bowels to ensure that the no build up of toxins occur that will pave the way for the development of disease.
It is essential in the healthy functioning of the digestive, cardiac and circulatory systems.
As an aid to weight loss, fiber keeps you from snacking unnecessarily since it is slowly absorbed in the body, making you fuller for longer.
Because it binds cholesterol and keeps it at manageable levels in the body, it is an important food source for heart health.
Thus, fiber should be included on a daily basis in your diet.
The effects of a no-fiber diet or one that is highly-deficient in it can be disastrous to one's health.
Without roughage, you expose yourself to different kinds of health problems.
One of the effects of a no-fiber diet is excessive weight gain and obesity.
When you don't make fiber a regular part of your meals, you deprive yourself of the high nutrition without the calories it offers.
Roughage keeps you from the urge to overeat since it makes you full for a longer period of time.
When you don't feel the need to snack, you keep your weight under control and won't fall prey to the illnesses that carrying on the excess pounds bring.
Where bowel function is concerned, the effects of a no-fiber diet are even more-- there's no subtle way to say it-- painful.
Without fiber that forms large but soft stools that smoothly pass through the anus, your stools become small yet hard and dry and hence difficult to move along the intestines.
You have to constantly strain in order to pass them out.
With every strained push, pressure gets intense in your anal area.
With constant battles in the toilet of this nature, you'll develop a condition known as hemorrhoids that make defecating such torture.
But it does not end there.
Constant pressure to move these stubborn stools leads to the formation of sacs along your intestinal walls.
This is a condition known as diverticulosis which needs treatment with antispasmodic drugs and antibiotics.
When it does not respond to pharmacological approaches, surgery also becomes an option-- something that could be avoided by simply taking in more fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
An insufficient amount of fiber in the diet also leads to a host of cardiac problems.
Roughage does more than keep the bowels moving.
It also lowers the levels of total cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol in the blood.
When these are reduced, your risk for heart attacks and heart failure also lessens.
However, with a diet that has little or no fiber content, no other foods bind the cholesterol in the blood.
As a result, your cholesterol levels rise, giving host to your increased risk for stroke and heart attack.
So make sure that you include fruits, dark green leafy vegetables and whole grain cereals into your daily diet.
The recommended serving of 4 to 6 servings of fruit and vegetable daily should ensure adequate fiber intake to promote your overall health.