How to Up Your Fiber Intake

Fiber helps regulate digestion, makes for a healthier colon, lowers cholesterol and can help you lose weight. Fiber comes in soluble or insoluble form. Soluble fiber dissolves or digests easily, insoluble fiber doesn't and both types of fiber promote better health. To get more fiber in your diet, you don't need to take a bunch of supplements; fiber can be easily incorporated into your diet through the foods you eat.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Use whole grain breads and cereals. Breads and cereals that use the all of the grain from the inner germ to the outside bran offer a huge boost in fiber intake. Adversely, white breads and cereals and processed flour only use a portion of the grain, thus imparting a very small amount of fiber.

2. Get more soluble fiber in your diet with fruits and vegetables. Fruits and veggies offer a vitamin and mineral boost, but whole versions of the same foods are high in fiber. Apples, pears, carrots, oranges and prunes are just a few fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.

3. Have fiber-filled snacks. Not only will you get the benefits of the fiber, but most naturally fiber rich snacks help aid with weight loss. Grab a handful of nuts, granola or popcorn for a midday snack. Just be sure to check labels to avoid hidden fats or sugars.

4. Eat more beans. A serving of some beans can offer as much as 13 grams of fiber to your daily intake. Beans make great soups, dips and hot or cold salads, so they're easy to fit into a meal.

5. Switch to brown pasta and rice. Much like whole grain breads, the brown or whole grain varieties of pasta and rice offer a fiber boost. Incorporating the brown versions into your favorite recipes will help with fiber and they're pretty tasty too.

6. Start your day with oatmeal. Oatmeal is the king of fiber and it can be eaten alone or slipped into many recipes. Add oatmeal to your favorite bread, muffin or cookies recipes to get great texture as well as healthy fiber. You can even add oatmeal to your main dishes. Put oatmeal in meatloaf, meatballs or coat oven baked chicken with it.

Tips & Warnings

• If you're not used to a fiber-rich diet, start slow to avoid constipation.
• Always check with your doctor before making dietary changes.

Resources

• National Institutes of Health on Fiber

[elaineee]

on 7/29/2009 Well written and great info. Thanks

[godfather25]

on 7/19/2009 Getting a lot of fiber in our diet is important. Great article.