Bulk Up with Fiber

Nutritionally speaking, fiber is the indigestible part of food you eat – the stuff that passes through your digestive system relatively quickly and intact, such as the bran in grain, the pulp in fruit, and the skin of certain vegetables such as corn. By traveling so quickly, it also rushes other foods through your system, giving cancer-causing compounds less time to do their dirty work, and moving excess calories through your system before they run into fat, which keeps your metabolic rate high. Fiber also promotes healthy digestion by stimulating the action of beneficial bacteria and dilutes potential carcinogens, reducing their ability to do harm. A diet high in fiber will fill you up so you’re less likely to eat unhealthy foods that slow down your metabolism, and it will help you maintain healthy cholesterol and blood sugar levels, making it a great tool for weight management.