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array_key_firstlast Wednesday at 6:36 PM1 replyview on HN

Fiber greatly lowers your blood sugar response because you can't digest it. It also lowers your blood cholesterol for the same reason, so it's often recommended for those with a risk of CVD to eat more fruits and vegetables. It also protects against colorectal cancer for similar reasons.

Turns out just slowing down digestion can have a lot of benefits.

Also, most Americans eat very, very little fiber. Anything is an improvement. I believe the FDA recommendation is 30 grams a day, and most Americans eat, like, 2.

However, most Americans are not deficient in protein. They eat lots of meat, and very little veggies.


Replies

overgardlast Wednesday at 6:53 PM

Well, true on the blood sugar response, but you can also lower the blood sugar response by not eating high-glycemic-index foods in the first place. Or, you could eat resistant starches if you really want a starch. So I don't necessarily disagree with you, but unless you're living a very active lifestyle I think it'd be better to remove carbs than add fiber.

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