Fiber is a very important part of a diet and most people are not getting enough. Learn what to eat for a high fiber diet in this nutrition video.
Whole grains increase fiber
Fruits & vegetables are high in fiber
Beans are an excellent source of fiber
Mix ground flax seed into food
Mary Hondros graduated from University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics. She currently works as a nutritionist for New Hanover County Schools in North Carolina. Her main focus is to teach children to improve nutritional habits.
MARY HONDROS: I'm going to tell you a little bit about eating a high fiber diet. Fiber is an extremely important component in a diet and most Americans don't consume nearly enough. It's recommended that you consume a minimum of 25 grams of fiber per day if you're a female and about 30 to 38 if you're a male. And not only does fiber help you lower your cholesterol but it also helps you stay full longer, so it makes you trimmer. Foods that are higher in fiber include whole grains, any kind of whole grain rice or anything like that, whole grain couscous, and also beans. Beans are the number 1 source of fiber, about half a cup of beans has between 6 to 10 grams of fiber, which is excellent. Certain vegetables like carrots have about 5 grams per half cup, so those are also an excellent choice. So, remember when you're trying to reach that minimum 25 grams of fiber per day, try to choose foods like beans at least 2 to 3 times per week, preferably once a day if you can. They're an excellent source of fiber, again, 6 to 10 grams per half cup serving. And also remember that one cup of fortified cereal has about 5 to 10 grams of fiber as well and can help you reach that minimum that you need. So, and also remember to choose 2 to 3 servings of vegetables per day, carrots, leafy green spinach, broccoli, those types of things are an excellent source of fiber. And lastly, you can try--one trick to increase your fiber intake is to buy some ground flaxseed and mix a tablespoon into a smoothie or something like that. That's about 3 grams of fiber per tablespoon and it's completely tasteless and you can't even see it. So that's another option for increasing your fiber. And those are some tips for helping you reach that fiber minimum.
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