According to the “Daily Mail”, fiber, a type of carbohydrate found in nuts, seeds, legumes and whole-grain bread, is known to have various health benefits.
Studies have shown that it helps treat stomach problems, regulate blood sugar levels, and even reduces the risk of developing bowel cancer.
But experts now confirm that a diet rich in fiber not only promotes weight loss while taking drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro, but also helps reduce what is known as “hunger rebound” when patients stop taking the medications.
Studies indicate that about two-thirds of people regain the weight they lost while taking the drugs within a year of stopping. This is largely due to the fact that many say that hunger pangs return to them strongly.
But experts confirm that adding more fiber before stopping taking the medications can help address this problem. More importantly, they say the effect is more pronounced when patients consume as many different types of fiber as possible.
Experts say that the importance of fiber for weight loss lies in the fact that it enhances gut bacteria responsible for avoiding hunger.
Nutrition expert Alex Glover said:
* If you don’t eat a lot of fiber, and most people taking these medications don’t, you’re not feeding the gut bacteria that contribute to the production of important hormones that make the brain feel full.
* If you don’t produce enough of these hormones, you will feel more hungry, and this will promote weight gain.
What is the best way to eat fiber?
These revolutionary drugs are known as GLP-1 injections, which started as diabetes medications like Ozempic, by giving the body a synthetic dose of the GLP-1 hormone – often described as the “satiety hormone” which is produced in the gut and released after meals to make the body feel full.
This feeling of fullness, or satiety, means that patients eat less food, which stimulates significant weight loss.
Obese patients taking Mounjaro, the strongest drug, lose up to a fifth of their body weight in the first year.
There are several reasons for this:
* First, fiber absorbs water in the stomach and expands, occupying extra space in it, which stimulates the feeling of fullness.
* It also takes longer to digest compared to other nutrients, which means it stays in the stomach longer.
However, experts have another interesting theory about why fiber can stop hunger.
It is believed that eating fiber, which is fermented in the gut by microbes located next to the cells that produce GLP-1, may play a role in directly stimulating the secretion of this hormone.
However, despite the many benefits, research shows that about 96% of adults in the UK do not consume the recommended amount of fiber, which is 30 grams per day.
Nutrition expert Dr. Federica Amati says: “Most people who take these medications do not eat much food at all, especially not enough fiber.”
