Tip 174. Fi
b
re for Dise
a
se Prevention
Dietary fibre plays an important role in the maintenance of h
e
alth and pr
ev
ention of diseases. Fibre forms the skelet
a
l
system of plants. Witho
u
t it no plant
or tree would be able to
stand
upright. Die
t
ary fibre, the roughage of yesteryears, consists
o
f those parts of the plant
foods
that cannot
be digested
by enzymes or other di
g
estive secr
e
tions in the
ailmentary canal.
There is suf
f
icient evide
n
ce to sugg
e
st that an ar
t
ifici
a
l
depletion of fibre
a
s
in case of
refined cereals and
sugar has
ov
er the last 100 years contributed to several degenerative diseases. Recent studies in this a
r
ea indicate
t
hat sufficie
n
t intake of
fi
bre-rich diet
may help prevent obesity, col
o
n cancer, h
e
art disease,
gallstones,
irritable bowel syndrom
e
, diverticulosis and diabetic co
n
ditions.
Studies have also esta
b
lished that
d
ietary fibre is a coll
e
cti
o
n of elements with a variety of functions ra
t
her than a single subst
a
nce with si
n
gle function
as was ass
u
med earlier. This new
insight i
n
to
t
he true nat
u
re of fibre
h
as given the lie to old b
e
liefs that br
a
n is synonymous with fibre, that all fibre is
f
ibr
o
us or stringy
and that all
fibre tastes
t
he same.
Tip 175. Fi
g
hting Fat
w
i
th a Vegetarian Diet
For a low-fat diet, eat a vegetarian diet.
Another benefit of the vegetarian diet
is the much lower intake of fat, if d
a
iry products,
seeds and nuts are eaten sparingly. This
a
ccounts for
lower serum
cholesterol levels found in
vegetarians, which considerably reduces the
risk
of developing heart dis
e
ases and b
r
east and colon
ca
n
c
e
r.
A third nutri
t
ional advantage of the vegetarian diet is i
t
s high
fibre conten
t
. Fibre, bei
n
g indigesti
b
le,
increases
t
h
e bulk of the faces, kee
p
s them soft and makes them easy to
expel. One study
h
as indic
a
ted that lacto-
ov
o vegetari
a
ns consume twice as much and vegans four
times as much fibre as
n
on-vegetarians. High fib
r
e intake has been associated with
d
ecreased risks of
dis
e
ases of the
colon, app
e
ndicit
i
s, ca
n
c
er of the c
o
lon and rec
t
um, hiatus hernia, piles and varicose veins.
McCarrison, one of the
g
reatest aut
h
orities on f
o
od, has outlined a perfect diet. Acco
r
ding to him, "
a perfectly c
o
nsti
t
uted diet is
one in which
the princip
a
l ingredients are
m
ilk,
m
i
lk
products, a
n
y whole ce
r
eal grain or
m
i
xture of cereal grains,
green leafy
vegetables
and fruits. These are
t
he protective foods. Th
e
y
m
ake go
o
d the defec
t
s
of other c
o
nstituents of
the diet, protect the
b
ody against
infection a
n
d disease of
various ki
n
ds, and their
use in suf
f
icient
quantity ensures physical effici
e
ncy
."
Tip 176. The Fig
g
y
Cure
Figs are an
excellent f
o
od remedy
f
or increasi
n
g weight in case of thin
n
ess. The hi
g
h percentage
of rapidly assimilated s
u
gars makes
them a strengthening a
n
d fattening
f
ood.
The fig is
al
so the supe
r
lative treatment for haemorrhoids.Three or four figs sho
u
ld
be soaked overnight in water after cleansing th
e
m thoroughly in hot water. They should be taken the first thing in the
morning along with water in which t
h
ey were soaked. They should also
b
e taken in the evening in a similar
manner. This treatment
should be continued for
three or four weeks.
The tiny seeds of the fruit possess
a
n excellent
quality of stimulating peristalic mov
e
ments of intestin
e
s
.
T
his facilitat
e
s
easy evacuation of fa
e
c
es and ke
e
ps the alim
e
ntary canal clean.
The pressu
r
e on the an
u
s having thus been reli
e
ved, the haemorrhoids also get cont
r
acted.
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