Fiber for breakfast...?

How long does it last??...im eating this Kashi go lean cereal and I want to know since it has fiber and whatever in it. Is it supposed to make me feel full forever or what I don't get it. What does the fiber do?

The insoluble fiber absorbs water, creates bulkier stools and helps to regulate the stool pattern. The bacteria in the lower bowel or colon do not break down this fiber. The increased bulk in stool is from the absorbed water. Examples of insoluble fiber are wheat, barley, rye, corn and rice. The second type of fiber is soluble. Soluble fiber, too, absorbs water and becomes gelatinous and sticky. Examples of soluble fiber are oats, oat bran, fruit pectins, gum and gum arabic. So is psyllium which is in the products Metamucil and Konsyl. Soluble fibers are metabolized and used as a food source by the beneficial and necessary colon bacteria. These bacteria, thereby, actually create the nutrition needed by the cells lining the colon. The stool bulk created by soluble fiber is mostly due to increased bacteria growth. Soluble fiber can lower the cholesterol 10-15%. The down side for soluble fiber is that harmless gas forming bacteria in the colon may cause bloating, discomfort and increased rectal gas or flatus. Methylcellulose is a synthetic fiber that is present in the product Citrucel. It is only slightly soluble in water and probably only partly digested by colon bacteria.

The health benefits of fiber are now well proven. You need 20 -30 grams of fiber every day to gain those benefits. A high fiber diet is helpful in irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, diverticulosis and perhaps hiatus hernia. Rural Africans who eat 50 grams a day of fiber from their unprocessed grains have few of these diseases. A Harvard University study on their graduates showed that men who ate more than 25 grams of fiber a day had more than 33% fewer heart attacks than those who ate below 15 grams a day. It was previously thought that fiber protected one from colon cancer and polyps. There is now mixed evidence for this benefit in the medical literature. A recent study suggests no benefit. Whenever we see negative and positive results such as this, it is likely that the benefit is minimal or weak.

Everyone always says that fiber makes you feel fuller, which personally I think is nonscense. But, i eat the kashi go lean cereal for breakfast as well, and it is very good and has lots of fiber and protein in it. I know that fiber and protein are important to have in a healthy diet, and kashi is a good food brand with lots of whole grains in their products (7 types to be exact).

As I understand it, the fiber just takes longer for your digestive system to breakdown and process than say liquids or other high moisture content foods. The fiber is also bulky for the amount of calories your body can get from it, so you eat enough to feel full and don't get as many calories as if you filled up on something more calorically dense like bacon and eggs.