People with diabetes, diverticulitis or a simple desire to improve their health through diet can turn to high-fiber food sources for help. The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans advises boosting fiber content with foods rather than with a separate supplement.
The added nutritional benefits of common fibrous foods do more to enhance daily diets and are less likely than supplements to cause digestive side effects from overdose. For quick fixes to low-fiber menus or for occasional increases in overall dietary fiber, certain vegetables, fruits and grains offer the highest supplemental values.
Whole Grains
Uncooked whole grains total the highest supplemental figures for dietary fiber, with 1 cup of barley containing 31g and bulgur wheat 26g, according to the USDA Nutrient Database. This fiber content disperses when water increases grain volume, so that cooked barley provides 6g and cooked bulgur 8g per 1-cup portion.
Cooks can add whole-wheat flour, oat bran, buckwheat groats and cornmeal to supplement the fiber in composed dishes. Ready-to-eat bran cereals also inhabit the high-fiber list among grain food sources. One-half cup of Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal provides 9g of fiber while 1 cup of Kellogg's Raisin Bran delivers 7g.
Legumes
Navy beans have the highest fiber content among edible food sources, with 19g per cooked 1-cup serving, These legumes are closely followed in content by black and pinto beans, lentils and split peas, which have 15g to 16g.
Cooked soybeans, black eyed peas, and lima, Great Northern, garbanzo, white and kidney beans have fiber amounts ranging from 10g to 14g. One cup of these legumes provides 40 percent or more of the FDA-recommended daily fiber requirement of 25g total.
Vegetables
All vegetables have dietary fiber, some with great supplemental benefits. Artichokes offer 14g and green peas, 9g, in 1-cup servings.
The USDA Dietary Guidelines encourage an increase in dark green and orange vegetables for their mineral content as well as for fiber. Additional high-fiber vegetables include cooked broccoli and spinach, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and winter squash.
Fruits
Fruits make low-calorie food sources of dietary fiber. Fresh fruits such as blackberries, 7g, Asian pears, 10g, and raspberries, 11g, each contain about 55 calories in 1 cup, according to the USDA.
Dried fruits have much higher calorie counts, but also high fiber counts. Dates, prunes and raisins boast high supplemental value, as do papayas, oranges and strawberries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest choosing whole fruits over juices, in general, for their greater fiber content.
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