what is roughage and its functions
Answers
Answer:
Roughage is the portion of plant foods, such as whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, that your body can’t digest.
However, it’s an important food source for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. It may also aid weight management and decrease certain risk factors for heart disease.
This article explains what roughage is, reviews its benefits, and provides a list of roughage-rich foods.
What is roughage?
Roughage, or fiber, refers to the carbs in plants that your body cannot digest. This article uses the terms roughage and fiber interchangeably.
Once roughage reaches your large intestine, it’s either broken down by your gut bacteria or exits your body in your stools (2Trusted Source).
There are two main types of fiber — soluble and insoluble. Most foods high in roughage contain a combination of these but are usually richer in one type (3Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
In the gut, soluble fiber absorbs water to become gel-like. This allows your gut bacteria to break it down easily. Chia seeds and oats are both high in soluble fiber (2Trusted Source, 5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).
In contrast, insoluble fiber has a more rigid microscopic structure and does not absorb water. Instead, it adds bulk to stools. Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of insoluble fiber (1Trusted Source, 4Trusted Source).
You should try to eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume per day. That’s about 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. Unfortunately, only about 5% of people reach this recommendation (7Trusted Source).
Not eating enough fiber can negatively affect your health. For example, eating a diet low in fiber has been linked to digestive issues like constipation and dysbiosis, which is the abnormal growth of harmful bacteria in the gut (8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source, 10Trusted Source).
Diets low in fiber are also associated with an increased risk of obesity, colon cancer, and breast cancer (11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source, 13).
SUMMARY
Roughage, also known as fiber, refers to carbs that your body cannot digest. Most people don’t eat enough fiber. Recommendations suggest that women consume about 25 grams of fiber per day, while men should consume 38 grams.
Benefits of roughage
You may have heard that adding roughage to your diet can improve your digestion.
Indeed, roughage has numerous healthy effects on your gut, such as increasing the bulk of stools, decreasing constipation, and feeding beneficial gut bacteria.
Foods high in roughage are also naturally richer in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants than low-fiber foods like refined grains. Plus, they may even help you lose weight (14Trusted Source).
Improves digestion and gut health
Dietary fiber plays many different roles in gut health.
Insoluble fiber helps alleviate constipation by adding bulk to stools, while the gel-like consistency of soluble fiber helps move stools more easily through your digestive
Answer: roughage is the fibrous matter in food which cannot be digested
Function :
It provides bulk to the food and waste material so that it keep moving in the intestine and be excreated out