Fruits That Are Sources of Fiber
A diet rich in fiber promotes health benefits that include weight control and heart disease prevention. According to the National Academies' Institute of Medicine, women ages 19 to 50 should eat approximately 25 grams of fiber a day, while women older than 50 should eat approximately 21 grams daily. Young to middle-aged men should eat approximately 38 grams of fiber per day, while men older than 50 should eat approximately 30 grams. Get your daily intake of fiber by adding fiber-rich fruits to your diet. Does this Spark an idea?
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Temperate
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Temperate fruits are found in temperate climates. Temperate fruits include apples, pears, cherries, plums and peaches. Apples are the richest in fiber with approximately 4 grams for one small apple, and a medium pear has 2.5 grams of fiber. You can get about 1 gram of fiber from 10 cherries, one plum or a medium peach. Keep the skin on fruits such as apples and pears to make the most of your fiber benefits; insoluble fibers are found in many fruit skins.
You can add temperate fruits to your diet in many ways, whether it's simply cutting up an apple or slicing up a peach and sprinkling it with a little bit of cinnamon for a night-time treat.
Berries
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Blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and cranberries are all types of fruits that contain fiber. Approximately 1/2 cup of blackberries contains 4 grams of fiber, as does the same portion of raspberries; 1/2 cup of blueberries contains 2 grams of fiber, but 1/2 cup whole cranberries contains 2.5 grams of fiber. You'll need 3/4 cup of strawberries for 2.4 grams of fiber.
Berries are easy to add to any diet. Simply grab a handful of blueberries to your yogurt or granola, blend ice and frozen strawberries or blueberries into a healthy shake or add some low-fat frozen yogurt for a dessert smoothie.
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Citrus
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Citrus fruits include oranges, tangerines, clementines, lemons, limes and grapefruit. A medium orange and a clementine each contain 2 grams of fiber, while a tangerine has 1.6 grams of fiber. Half a grapefruit contains 1.3 grams of fiber.
Citrus fruits can be combined with any breakfast as part of a healthy, fiber-rich meal. Squeeze oranges for a glass of fresh juice in the morning, or enjoy canned tangerines glazed in a light syrup. Clementines are small and portable, making them fit as a light, healthy snack on the go.
Tropical
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Tropical fiber-rich fruits include banana, kiwi, mango, pineapple and pomegranate. A small banana has 1.3 grams of fiber; slice and add this fruit to your granola in the morning, place it atop low-fat ice cream for a sweet treat or top it with a tablespoon of peanut butter for a healthy snack.
A 1/2 cup of pineapple contains approximately 1 gram of fiber, one peeled mango contains 4 grams and one kiwi fruit without skin contains 3 grams. Make a tropical fruit salad with sliced pineapple, mango, kiwi and banana. Grill pineapple vegetable skewers for your next barbecue.
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References
- Photo Credit Fruit salad in hollow watermelon and fruits image by Elzbieta Sekowska from Fotolia.com
