Easy Ways to Add Fiber to Your Diet
Increasing dietary fiber intake is a daily practice, which is vital for a well-balanced diet that promotes optimal health.
Understanding Soluble and Insoluble Dietary Fiber
Dietary fiber, a carbohydrate found in part of a plant cell wall that cannot be broken down in the human digestive track, is distinguished by two different types: Soluble Fiber and Insoluble Fiber.
Soluble fiber absorbs water during digestion, which helps to keep our bodies feeling fuller, longer. As the soluble fiber absorbs water in the digestive tract, it increases stool bulk and prevents constipation and diarrhea, ensuring healthy bowel movements and proper digestion. This type of fiber can be found in fruits, vegetables, legumes, and oats.
Insoluble fiber maintains its form as it moves through the digestive track, which helps to promote normal movement of foods through the intestines while maintaining those feelings of fullness after eating. This type of dietary fiber can be found in fruit peels or seeds, vegetables, whole grain products such as whole wheat bread, pastas or cereals, and brown rice.
Incorporating both types of fiber into our diet is essential for healthy digestion and can assist in chronic disease prevention or treatment. Dietary fiber can also aid in the weight loss process by promoting feelings of fullness and insuring proper elimination of waste through healthy bowel movements.
Easily Add Fiber to Your Diet
The daily recommended intake of dietary fiber from foods is 20-35 g/ day. The University of California, San Francisco offers some easy, achievable suggestions for incorporating more fiber into your diet to meet these recommendations for optimal health:
- As a general rule, incorporate at least one serving of a whole grain (bread, pasta, rice) in every meal
- Choose cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving (like oatmeal!)
- Cook with brown rice instead of white rice
- Add beans (kidney, garbanzo) to soups and salads.
- Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, always trying to eat the peel whenever possible!
Nugo Fiber d’Lish bars offer 12g of dietary fiber per serving, which is close to half of the daily recommendations! Click here for further details about our Fiber d’Lish bars!
References:
Increasing Fiber Intake. University of California San Francisco Medical Center website. http://www.ucsfhealth.org/education/increasing_fiber_intake/. Accessed October 23, 2015.