Do you need to increase the amount of fiber in your diet? Fiber is essential to a healthy diet. Fiber will allow your body to work better to digest food and will help fight against constipation. Many people do not get enough fiber in their diet. Along with eating foods that are high in fiber you could also add a supplement to your diet if you’re still not getting enough, like Benefiber. Benefiber is a good choice because it is tasteless and you can add it to any drink or food and you will not see or taste it in the food. It’s not gritty like other fiber substitutes, so you won’t get that gritty feeling in your mouth from eating it or drinking it with something else. Add more fiber to your diet and your digestive system as well as your colon will be happier. A fiber deficiency increases your risk of constipation, hemorrhoids, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, obesity, colon cancer and heart disease. In other words, high fiber foods are essential if you want to look and feel your best. Eating more high fiber foods will give you strength to get up and go on regular basis. Most Americans get only 10 grams of fiber daily. You need to take in 30 to 40 grams of fiber a day for optimum health. Most people are not getting nearly enough fiber in their diet.
Here is a list of foods that have fiber in them, some have more fiber than others:
Apples
Apricot
Asparagus
Artichoke
Avocado
Banana
Barley, raw or cooked
Beans
Black berries
Blue berries
Brazil nuts
Broccoli
Cabbage
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Coconut
All Bran Cereal
Oat Bran Cereal
Dried figs
Wholemeal flour
Grapes
Kiwi
Lemon
Lettuce
Mango
Nashi Pear
Almonds
Cashews
Oranges
Onion
Peanuts
Peach
Pear with skin
Peas
Pistachio nuts
Pecans
Air-popped popcorn
Baked potato with skin
Raspberries
Raisins
Whole wheat Spaghetti
Rice
Strawberries
Spinach
Sunflower seeds
Sweet corn
Tomatoes
Tomato paste
Whole wheat bread
Walnuts
The foods with the highest amount of fiber include the following: Dried beans, peas and other legumes including baked beans, kidney beans, split peas, dried limas, garbanzos, lentils, pinto beans and black beans, green beans, snap beans, pole beans, lima beans and broad beans. Dried fruit, such as figs, apricots and dates. Fruits like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, plums, pears, apples, kiwi, guava, coconut and banana’s. Vegetables like fresh and frozen green peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, sweet corn, beet root, baked potato with the skin and carrots. Also, green vegetables like spinach, beet greens, kale, collards, swiss chard and turnip greens. Nuts that are high in fiber include almonds, brazil nuts, peanuts and walnut. Whole wheat, barley products, rye, oats, buckwheat and cornmeal are all high in fiber too. Remember that you may want to consult a doctor before starting any type of diet or increasing your intake of fiber.
