High Fiber Foods DietWhy Fiber? Parts of a plant that cannot be digested are collectively known as dietary fiber.
A high fiber diet is extremely important as it helps in preventing and correcting disorders related to the colon. Primarily, the colon is essential as it completes the process of digestion. Dietary fiber aids the contractions of the colon, thereby helping in the passage of food through the digestive tract. Moreover, fiber also helps in expanding the colon, which facilitates the passage of waste.
Types of Fiber. Most of the fiber that we consume can be broadly divided into two categories: soluble and insoluble fibers.
Both play a vital role in sustaining and improving our health.
High Fiber Food. Foods that are rich in fiber are collectively termed high fiber food. Fruits that are rich in fiber include bananas, berries including blackberries and raspberries, apples, and dried figs. High fiber vegetables include beans including baked beans, black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, white beans, and green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, leafy green vegetables, peas, and potatoes.
Sweet corn, lentils, oats, and whole grains are also considered to be rich in fiber. Apart from the high fiber food mentioned above, psyllium, available in the market in the form of ground psyllium, is supposed to be one of the best sources of fiber.
Benefits. Apart from the obvious benefits of ensuring a healthy colon and digestive system, a high fiber diet is also helpful in weight loss. More and more people are including high fiber foods in their diet in an effort to shed the extra weight. The new trend as far as weight loss is concerned has moved from a low carbohydrate diet to a high fiber diet. To be specific, high fiber foods or a high fiber diet helps in preventing or treating irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), colitis, diverticulitis, diabetes, and Crohn's disease. High fiber diets have also be known to help in lowering cholesterol, alleviating blood pressure problems, and reducing the risk of cancer.
High Fiber Diet. Including foods that are high in fiber in your daily diet is a healthy habit. If you are increasing the intake of fiber, it is advisable to also increase your fluid intake. This is because fiber absorbs water in the intestines, facilitating the easy passage of waste. Nowadays, many people have high fiber diets, which are essentially diets that contain or focus only on high fiber food. In an effort to increase the intake of fiber, high fiber recipes are readily available in several health books, which include many easy-to-make dishes rich in high fiber foods. Another important item in a high fiber diet is high fiber bread. These breads are whole wheat and multigrain breads.
Cereal Group: Contains approximately 2gms of fiber per serving. | Oatmeal - ½ cup | Corn flakes - 2/3rd cup | Grape Nuts – ½ cup
| Shredded wheat – 1/2 biscuit | | Wheat bran – ½ cup | Puffed wheat - 1/3rd cup | Fruit Group: Each serving of Fruits contains approximately 2gms of fiber. | 1 apple or pear | 10 large cherries | 1 banana
| 2 small plums | | 1 medium peach | ½ cup strawberries | 1 small orange
| 1-½ oz. Box raisins
| Vegetable Group:Each serving has approximately 2gms of fiber.
| 2 cups lettuce | 1 corn on the cob | 1 medium potato
| ½ cup baked beans | | 1 medium raw tomato | ½ cup green beans
| 4 Brussels sprouts
| 1/3rd cup carrots | 1 stalk of broccoli
| 1 cup celery
| Bread Group: Contains approximately 2gms of fiber per serving.
| Bran muffin (low fat) | Wheat bread (cracked)
| Stone-ground bread
| Whole-wheat bread
| Miscellaneous Group: Each serving has approximately 1gm of fiber.
| 1cup popcorn | 1 large pickle
| 3 tsp strawberry jam
| 10 peanuts
| 2 tsp relish
| 2-½ tsp peanut butter
|
|
