These differences are based on the nature and the food system. The rural population consumes more vegetable fibers, coarse cellulose (cellulose), so the body receives more water from the food. The use of vegetables, fruits, herbs, which contain pectins, hemicellulose, mucus, provides improvement of intestinal microflora. Vegetable fibers help normalize the work of the digestive tract, ensure the removal of toxins and other harmful, not utilized by the body elements.
The seventies of the last century revealed a number of diseases that arose due to inadequate intake of fiber. These are diseases of the gastroenterological plan, such as inflammatory bowel syndrome, calculous cholecystitis, accompanied by the presence of cholesterol stones, hernia of the diaphragm nut opening and others. There were diseases of the large intestine: ulcerative colitis, cancer, polyposis, appendicitis, diverticulosis, hemorrhoids; diseases of the heart and blood vessels (hypertension, thrombosis of veins, varicose veins, atherosclerosis, ischemia, etc.), other troubles, such as arthrosis, gout, diabetes, obesity and caries.
In order to answer the question about the common cause that caused all these diseases, it is necessary to dwell in more detail on some properties of cellulose.
One of these properties is the ability to normalize the speed of food passage through the large intestine. It is proved that if about 30 grams of wheat bran fiber is added to food, the fiber of which is mainly cellulose, the digestion time of the intestines of adult men is reduced, and is not 3, 8 days, but 2, 4. And those who suffer from diarrhea, begin to digest food not for several hours, but about 2 days, which is the norm.
Another important property of cellulose is the ability to remove from the body toxic elements that enter the intestine along with food: heavy metal salts, residual substances, fertilizers, pesticides, etc. This property of plant fibers provides the cation exchange capabilities of lignin and pectin. These components, coming into contact with cholesterol and bile acids in the intestine, help prevent the inverse absorption into the blood of cholesterol, which causes its active conversion in the liver.
Thus, a reduction in the concentration of cholesterol elements in the blood is achieved only with pectic work up to 13%, and if we take into account also soy protein, then - up to 41 percent. Here it becomes clear how regular consumption of soybeans and legumes prevents the formation of stones in the gallbladder and vascular and heart disease in general.
Cellulose (insoluble fiber) has practically no ion-exchange properties, but, nevertheless, due to other mechanisms, inhibits the development of diseases of atherosclerosis and other ailments of the heart and vessels.
Fiber prevents nephrolithiasis and duodenal ulcer. Foreign scientists noted a decrease in the level of exacerbations of these diseases in patients who switched to a plant-rich dietary system. The aggravation occurred only in 45%.
Favorable effect of the plant fiber in cases of gastrointestinal diseases is due to the ability of hemicellulose to form a soft, swollen, mucous, viscous mass and neutralize the excess of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. As a result, the chemical-physical "rest" of the mucous membranes is provided, and recovery comes.
Experiments conducted by researchers in the 1970s showed that the development of diabetes mellitus is slowed down if the fiber in the human diet is sufficient. The effect is more noticeable if this fiber is supplied together with complex carbohydrates, for example, starch, and not by pure ballast substances, for example, in the form of bran.
There is a scientifically proven view that diseases of arthritis and multiple sclerosis occur more easily among those food groups that use complex carbohydrates and high amounts of fiber.
Established and the fact that the use of vegetable fibers in large quantities can prevent the development of colon cancer. For example, the occurrence of such diseases in different parts of England depends on the levels of pentose fractions of plant fibers in human nutrition. The main source of these fractions in the diets of Englishmen is porridge.
Not so long ago, scientists have identified a cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, Brussels, white cabbage) with a mechanism that has an anti-cancer effect. When these vegetables are used in the intestinal cavity, indoles are formed and absorbed by the blood, stimulating the hepatic detoxification function.
When discussing the problem of the use of cellulose, one can not help saying that the products containing it have a lower calorie content than those foods in which it is not included. They dull the feeling of hunger, reduce the digestibility of fats and carbohydrates, which contributes to the normalization of body weight.
In conclusion, let us cite another interesting and important argument, which proves the great importance of cellulose for man. With the use of fiber increases salivation, which leads to the need for more thorough chewing food. This is an excellent prevention of the occurrence of calculus, caries and improvement of gastric function.