Tips for Introducing Fiber Into Your Diet

Fiber is plant-based carbohydrates that humans cannot digest. The USDA recommends women and children to eat at least 20g of fiber each day from food, not supplements. The more food you eat, the more fiber you should consume, so teens and men may need to eat 30g to 35g of fiber. Eating a fiber-rich diet has been linked to a lower risk in heart disease and preventing Type two diabetes, constipation and diverticulitis, which is an inflammation of the colon.

Eat More Fruit

Add a serving of fruit to your breakfast, lunch and dinner. Choose whole fruit rather than juice. Juice may have nutrients like vitamin C, but many juices lack fiber that whole fruit has. Berries have some of the highest levels of fiber. Raspberries contain eight grams of fiber for 1 cup serving, and blackberries have 7.6g of fiber for 1 cup serving. When you eat fruit, be sure to eat the skin too. Much of the fiber content of fruit is in the skin.

Try Beans

Beans are an inexpensive source of iron, protein and fiber. One serving of beans is roughly half a cup, and it offers 25 to 30 percent of the USDA recommended intake of fiber. Try new bean dishes such as lentil soup and black beans with brown rice. To prevent gas from beans, soak dry beans overnight and discard the soaking water.

Switch to Whole Grains

Common complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, pasta and rice can be switched with more fiber-rich whole grains. Whole wheat pasta, steel cut oats and brown rice offer more vitamins, minerals and fiber than their refined counterparts. One slice of white bread typically contains less than one gram of fiber, while whole what bread has at least 1.9g of fiber. Whole grains have more fiber because the bran and the germ of the grains has not been removed, like those of refined grains such as white flour and white rice.

Read Nutrition Labels

Not all whole grain cereals and breads are alike. By reading the nutrition label on the product, you can check what its fiber content really is. Choose items that list whole grains, such as whole oats or whole wheat, first in its ingredient list. You should be eating whole wheat bread that has at least 3g of fiber.

Eat Four Servings of Vegetables a Day

To achieve the recommended intake of fiber, you should eat at least four servings of vegetables a day. One serving of vegetables is approximately one cup raw or half a cup of cooked. A diet rich in vegetables is good all around for health, lowering risk of stroke, heart disease and more. Variety is the best choice in choosing vegetables. Eating many different kinds of vegetables of all colors will introduce fiber into your diet.