1. Find Food Group Winners
You may know that wheat bran and psyllium are great sources of fiber. But take one look at a fiber gram table and you'll quickly learn which are the highest fiber foods in each food group. Choose these high fiber winners to get enough fiber every day.
For instance, could you name which fruit has the most fiber: an apple, a pear or an orange? The answer is the pear, with almost two more grams of fiber then the other fruits. When comparing foods, it's important to make sure that your are comparing equal serving sizes. For instance, one medium fruit, one ounce of nuts, etc.
2. Figure Fiber Density
A fiber gram table usually displays a food, the serving size and grams of fiber per serving. If you have a fiber gram table that includes calorie content, you can determine fiber density. Fiber density, or the amount of fiber per calorie, is a useful calculation if you are trying to eat a high fiber diet while trying to eat fewer calories.
A food like wheat bran is very fiber dense. It has about 20g of fiber in 100 calories. Most fruits and vegetables are fiber dense because those foods are low in calories. Apples have about 4g of fiber per 100 calories. Kidney beans come in at around 7 or 8g of fiber per 100 calories.
Nuts and seeds, on the other hand, are less fiber dense because the fat content of nuts pushes up the calories. Even though almonds are a good source of fiber at 3g of fiber per ounce, they have less than 2g per 100 calories.
3. Pick Fiber Favorites
One of the best ways to meet your fiber goal is to choose a few high fiber foods that you enjoy and eat them often. With a fiber gram table, you can seek out favorite foods that are highest in fiber.
Maybe you love lentil soup. Great! A one half cup serving of lentils has 8 grams of fiber. That makes a big contribution toward the 21 to 38g of fiber recommended for adults.
Scan a fiber gram table for the foods with the most fiber to pick you favorite fruits, vegetables, beans, grains and nuts. Adding these foods each day is a healthy start to a high fiber diet.
4. Tally Your Daily Fiber
You hear about the health benefits of eating a high fiber diet but how do you know if you're getting enough fiber? A fiber gram table has the information you need to make a good estimate of your fiber intake.
To start, jot down all the foods and beverages you consume for 3 days. The 3 days do not have to be consecutive. Then, use a fiber gram table to look up the amount of fiber in each food. Adjust for the actual serving size you consumed. Add up all the fiber values over the three days and divide by three to get your average daily fiber intake.
Adult women are advised to eat 25g of fiber per day and adult men, 38g per day. After age 50, women are advised to eat 21g and men, 30g per day.
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