Dietary fiber alone has certain benefits, but its primary role may be to encapsulate nutrients for special delivery to our gut microbiomes. If there’s one recurring theme in this book, it’s wall off your calories. Make sure as many of your calories as possible—your protein, your carbs, your fat—are encased in cell walls. Cell walls are made out of fiber, which acts as an indigestible physical barrier, so when you eat structurally intact plant foods, many of the calories remain trapped. Chew all you want—you’re still going to end up with calories completely surrounded by fiber, which then
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