The Health of It All

Fiber

Fiber is not one particular food, but the part of plant foods that your body can’t digest -- what your grandma called roughage. She might have thought of getting more roughage as eating more greens and beans but there’s so many other great sources of fiber.

Technically fiber is a carbohydrate, but it is not absorbed into the body like other carbs because humans don’t have the enzymes to break them down. As a result, foods that are high in fiber are generally lower in calories.

Most people need to increase the amount of dietary fiber in their diet. The average American only eats foods with 10 – 15 grams of fiber per day but 25 – 30 grams is optimum.

Higher fiber diets have been associated with lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, diverticulosis as well as lower cholesterol and reduced risk of metabolic syndrome.

There are two types of fiber – soluble and insoluble:

Soluble fiber is often called a “sticky” fiber, and is the one that is more effective in lowering cholesterol. It is found in dried beans and grains, such as oat bran, oatmeal and rye. Almost all fruits, such as apples, grapes, peaches, oranges and pears, are high in soluble fiber (think sticky fruits). Most vegetables are high in soluble fiber as well.

Insoluble fibers are found in whole grain products, such as whole wheat flour, breads and pastas. Cereal grains like rice, wild rice and seeds are high in insoluble fiber.

The easy way to get more fiber in your diet is to eat more fruits and veggies. Also eating more whole grains and nuts can be good sources of fiber. Here’s a table to help with some of the most common foods that are higher in fiber:

Fruit

Food	Serving size	Fiber(grams)
Apple (with skin)	1 large	3.3
Apricots	1	0.7
Banana	1 medium	3.1
Blackberries	1 cup	7.6
Dates	5	3.3
Grapefruit (pink or red)	1/2	2.0
Cantaloupe	1 cup	1.4
Nectarine	1	2.3
Orange	1 small	3.1
Peach	1	1.5
Pear	1 medium	5.1
Pineapple	1 cup	2.2
Plums	1 small	0.9
Dried prunes	5	3.0
Raisins	1 cup	5.4
Strawberries	1 cup	3.3

Vegetables

Food	Serving size	Fiber(grams)
Beans, baked, canned, plain	1 cup	10.4
Green beans (cooked)	1 cup	4.0
Beets	1 cup	2.9
Broccoli	1 cup	2.3
Cabbage	1 cup	1.6
Carrots	1 cup	3.1
Cauliflower	1 cup	2.5
Celery	1 cup	1.9
Yellow corn	1 cup	3.9
Lentils	1 cup	15.6
Romaine lettuce	1 cup	1.2
Iceberg lettuce	1 cup	0.7
Peas	1 cup	4.5
Split peas	1 cup	16.3
Tomatoes	1 tomato	1.5
Acorn squash	1 cup	5.7
Zucchini	1 large	3.6

Breads, cereals, grains

Food	Serving size	Fiber(grams)
100% All Bran	1/2 cup	8.8
Corn Flakes	1 cup	0.7
Shredded Wheat	2 biscuits	5.5
Cooked oatmeal	1 cup	4.0
Cooked brown rice	1 cup	3.5
Cooked white rice	1/3 cup	0.6
White bread	1 slice	0.6
Whole grain bread	1 slice	1.7
Baked potato	1/2 potato	2.3
Sweet potato (no skin)	1/2 potato	3.9

Nuts

Food	Serving size	Fiber(grams)
Almonds (24 nuts)	1 oz.	3.3
Peanuts, dry roasted (approx. 28)	1 oz.	2.3
Walnuts, English (14 halves)	1 oz.	1.9