What’s the first thing you think of when you hear the words “dietary fiber”?
A) A healthy lifestyle
B) Bathroom humor jokes
C) Regularity
D) Roughage
E) All of the above
If you answered “all of the above,” you probably don’t need to read the rest of this.
Dietary fiber is found in plants. It’s the part of plant-based foods that is indigestible, and is sometimes called roughage. Sounds delightful, doesn’t it? If you have active imaginations like we do, “roughage” might conjure up images of sinewy green masses that refuse to break up no matter how much you chew on them… and they kinda taste like cardboard. Green cardboard. It’s a good thing the kimchi aficionados know better!
Dietary fiber can be broken down into two distinct types-soluble and non-soluble. Soluble fiber can be dissolved in water, and as it passes through the digestive tract it absorbs water and is changed by the bacteria in your body into a gelatinous substance. Non-soluble fiber will leave your body in relatively the same condition as it entered. What’s so great about that, you ask? The fermentation of soluble fiber aids in the production of health-promoting compounds in the digestive tract, and the ability of insoluble fiber to attract water without absorbing it aid in the cleansing of said tract.
So where do you get a healthy dose of both types of fiber? Kimchi. Because kimchi is made primarily of veggies, it’s an excellent source of both types of fiber (this is in addition to its hearty probiotic benefits). So give your digestive system a break and add a dose of kimchi to your daily diet. Your body will like you more than Darth Vader likes filtered drinking water.
Tags: darth vader, diet, digestion, fermentation, fiber, insoluble, kimchi, soluble, vegetables