Amazing Food that is Rich in Fiber

Adequate edible food is a basic necessity of our human body as it is vital for natural growth and development. It supplies favourable nourishment to our health and prevents disease. We all need food to do our daily works. But, does our food grocery list India contain the proper amount of nutrition that your body requires. In our everyday life, we need an adequate amount of nutrients like carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals, water and fibers etc. The exquisite discovery of various nutrients at the turn of the modern era has ‘rediscovered’ the science of nutrition.

What do you mean by fiber?

Fiber is the parts of plants and seeds that our body cannot digest. In other words, the term “dietary fiber” implies the indigestible parts of plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, grains, cereals, legumes etc. Instead, it is useful as it facilitates the food to pass quickly through the body — various dietary fibres required for proper digestive health and regular bowel movements. The nutrient-fibre goes through the intestinal tract reasonably intact. However, while on its path, fiber performs distinctive tasks. These dietary fibres consist of substances such as cellulose, lignin and pectin. These substances are resistant to the action of digestive enzyme. Dietary fibres are plant-based nutrients which are also known as roughage.

What is the RDA (recommended daily amount) for fibre intake?

The recommended daily amount of the fibre intake for men’s ages 50 and younger should consume at least 36 grams of fibres per day. For men’s above 51 and older should consume 30 grams of grains per day. Women’s ages about 18 -50 years of age should consume at least 25 grams of fibres per day. While women’s above the age of 50 should consume at least 21 grams of fibres per day.

What are the types of fibers?

There are two main types of fibers:

1. Soluble fibers: They are capable of dissolving with water and turning into a gel during the digestion process. They slow down the digestive cycle. You can detect soluble fiber in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. Moreover, it can also discover in psyllium which is a joint fiber supplement. It will help you to keep the total control over cholesterol and lower risk of heart disease.
2. Insoluble fibers: Insoluble fibre is usually found in the seeds and peels of fruit, vegetables, whole-wheat bread, wheat bran and brown rice. These fibres put in bulk to the stool and seem to help in the passage of food quickly through the stomach and intestines. It makes us feel fuller and helps to reduce colon cancer.

SOLUBLE FIBRE VS INSOLUBLE FIBRE

Both Soluble fiber and insoluble fiber differ in their respective function. For instance, soluble fiber cause less time to transit through the intestine, whereas insoluble fiber speeds up intestinal transit.

Before entering the stomach and intestines, Soluble fiber dissolves in water and gastrointestinal fluids. It transforms into a gel-type substance, which gets digested by bacteria in the large intestine, releasing gases and some calories. On the other hand, insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water or gastrointestinal fluids and smoothly passes through the digestive tract. However, insoluble fiber is calorie-free.

Facts about both Fibre

• Many enriched foods with fiber have both Soluble and insoluble fiber.
• Both have healthy functions.
• Since ancient times, we have been commonly using dietary fibers.

Benefits of Soluble-Rich food

1.Lowering fat absorption and weight loss

Soluble luxurious fiber maintains a healthy weight by blocking fats that could otherwise digest and absorbed and adding many calories to your diet.

2.Lower cholesterol and Diabetes protection:

As soluble fiber can’t be adequately absorbed, it doesn’t contribute to the dangerous blood sugar spikes. It prevents breaking down of dietary cholesterol and so, its bits of help in maintaining cholesterol levels in the blood.

3.Heart protection

Soluble fiber food like Oatmeal reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by lowering and stabilising cholesterol levels and improving circulatory conditions.

4.Feeding healthy gut bacteria

Some soluble fibers feed gut bacteria, as it fermented in the colon, and hence, it helps the bacteria thrive longer.

5.Healthy bowel movements

Soluble fiber food dissolves with water as it passes through your body organs and bulks up your stool. Consequently, it efficiently guards against constipation and diarrhoea. Commonly, most fiber supplements are rich in soluble fibers.

Benefits of Insoluble Fibre

1.It Prevents bowel-related health issues.

Being an indigestible source, insoluble fiber supports processing of waste and helps prevent problems controlling your bowel movements like gastrointestinal blockage, constipation, piles or faecal incontinence.

2.Weight loss

Just like soluble fiber, insoluble fiber also supports weight loss by staving off hunger pangs.

3.Digestive health

If we eat natural insoluble fiber, it solves our bowel-related health problems like constipation, intestinal blockages, haemorrhoids, and faecal incontinence. Likewise, the chance of developing colorectal cancer also reduced.

What food are highest in fiber?

Many of you are anxious to know what food has fiber? There are various types of foods with lots of fiber present in it. It helps in losing weight. It leaves your stomach undigested and gets finished in the colon. Certain types of fibers help in maintaining the blood sugar level and fights constipation too. You can increase your fiber intake, which is relatively more straightforward- as certain simple foods have a high percentage of dietary fibres available. But, here, the question arises, how to increase the intake of high-fibre food throughout the day?

Straightforwardly, you can add eating fibre-rich foods at each meal of the day. For example,

• Breakfast

Have a food high in fibre cereal or oatmeal breakfast with added berries and seeds.

• Snack

Choose to eat highest fiber foods such as some raw fruits, raw vegetables, dry fruits, nut or seeds.

• Lunch

Eat sufficient salad and if you prepare a sandwich, then prefer 100% whole-grain bread.

• Dinner

Prefer cooking whole grains or cereals.

List of High-fibre food

Below, we have mentioned best fiber foods and top fiber foods due to the most arising question that is what are the best fiber foods. Hence, Various types of high fiber foods list:

1. Chia seeds: These are the tiny black seeds which are immensely popular. They are highly nutritious and healthy as they are rich in the content of magnesium, phosphorus and calcium. The fiber content in this food is nearly 34.4 grams per 100 grams.
2. Popcorns: These are made from the famous American corn. So, if your goal is to have good fiber foods intake than popcorns are the best option for it. Air-popped popcorn contains a high amount of dietary fibers and calorie. The fiber content in this food is nearly 14.5 grams per 100 grams.
3. Almonds: Almond is very famous for its capability of enhancing the memorizing power amongst the students of the school. They are very high in nutrient, including healthy fats, vitamin E, manganese and magnesium. The fibre content of this food is nearly 12.5 grams per 100 grams.
4. Oats: These are one of the healthiest grain foods of the earth. They are very rich in vitamins, minerals and even antioxidants. These also contain their sturdy soluble fibers called oat beta glycan. Therefore, it counts in most fiber-rich foods. It yet has significant effects on the blood sugar and cholesterol levels of the body. The fiber content of this food is 10.6 grams per 100
5. Dark chocolate: These are arguably is one of the most delicious meals in the world. It is one of the most nutrit9ive and antioxidant-rich food. The fiber content of this food is 10.9g per 100 g.
6. Arti choke: Artichoke is a type of vegetable. It is high in terms of nutrients, and they are one of the best sources of fiber. The fiber content of this food is 8.6 grams per 100 grams.
7. Split peas: These split peas are made from the dried, split and peeled over the peas. The fiber content of this food is about 8.3 grams per 100 grams of it.
8. Lentils: They are one of the cheapest and one of the most nutritious foods available on earth. In Lentils, the content of protein is very high and loaded with other essential nutrients. The fiber content of this food is about 7.9 grams per 100 grams of Lentils.
9. Chickpeas: This type of chickpeas is another type of legume which loaded with nutrients, minerals and protein. The fiber content of the chickpeas are about 7.6 grams of chickpeas per 100 grams of chickpeas
10. Avocado: Avocado is different from all other fruits. Instead of having a high amount of carbs, it highly loaded with healthy fats. They are having a high amount of Vitamin C, Vitamin E, various other of Vitamin B, potassium, magnesium etc. They even have very high no. Of benefits for health. The fiber content of this food is about 6.7 grams per 100 grams of Avocado.
11. Flaxseeds: The flaxseed is a significant fiber crop which cultivated in colder regions of the world. The small brown seeds are high in fiber and omega-3 fatty acids which can maintain your blood cholesterol. You can grind these seeds and add to yoghurt, apple sauce, or breakfast cereals. The flax seeds image depict about their physical shine and nutty seeds which have an earthy aroma and a host of health wellness

What are the sources of these fibers?

Below are the fiber sources:

• Beans: like three-bean salad, bean burritos, chilli, soup.
• Whole grain products: bread or pasta etc.
• Brown rice
• Popcorn
• Nuts
• Baked potato with skin
• Berries: seed along with the coat gives an excellent fiber for the berries.
• Bran Cereals: cereals usually have 5 grams of fibres present in it.
• Oatmeal
• Vegetables
• Fiber biscuits

Low-fibre Diet

In some cases, the low residue recommended to an individual depending upon his health condition and physical requirements. Here, a low-fiber diet implies to give “rest” to the bowel. The food that we eat gets digested, but the leftover as residue passes through the colon and removed as stool or faeces. These low fibres reduce stool volume and results in fewer and smaller bowel tendencies.

Such low-fibre diets are often advised for patients with issues the following conditions.

• The occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease
• Vowel tumors
• Inflamed bowel due to chemotherapy treatments.
• After bowel surgery.
• Inflamed or narrowed bowel.

You can live upon a low Fibre diet as a regular basis throughout the day as follows:

• Breakfast

You can eat scrambled eggs, buttered white toast along with vegetable juice.

• Lunch

You can have unseeded salad and banana.

• Dinner

You can make seasoned, broiled salmon food with mashed potatoes.

What are the sources of low fibre diet?

Examples of low dietary fiber foods are as follows

1. White bread without nuts/seeds
2. White rice and bran cereals.
3. Well cooked vegetables and peeled off fruits
4. Fresh fruit like banana fibre, honeydew, watermelon etc.
5. Eggs, fish and poultry.
6. Milk-dairy products, cheese and yoghurt.
7. Fruit juices like prune juice
8. Legumes
9. Corn and popcorn
10. Leafy vegetables
11. Decaffeinated beverages
12. Canned fruits

Effects of a low-fibre Diet

Sometimes, low-fibre is beneficial as follows

• Relief in bowel-illnesses, causing inflammation and other related disorders such as abdominal pain, diarrhoea, cramping, bloating, and gas formation.
• It reduces undigested food left in our body.
• It increases the comfort level for people having digestive issues.
• Lessens the stool amount you produce

Shifting over to a high-fibre Diet

You should be careful while moving your diet to high-fibre food because a sudden change in your food plan can cause side-effects and health issues such as abdominal cramps, discomfort, intestinal gas, bloating, or diarrhoea. Here, it suggested that you should add-on the fibre enriched food gradually to your food diet with an increased amount of water intake. The more fibre you increase on to your diet, the more liquid you should drink until your body gets used to the increase in fibre.

Fibre Supplements

There are several fibre supplements available in the market, but the main ones are as follows

1.Guar fibre

This supplement used.to enhance fullness, reduce overall calorie intake and to improve texture

2.Psyllium

It is an ingredient in Metamucil which is a joint supplement which used to resist constipation and lower hunger after meals.

3.Glucomannan

This fibre supplement utilized to improve texture, increase fullness and reduce appetite.

4.Beta-glucan

β-glucans found in whole grains, oats, bran, wheat, and barley. It used to maintain cholesterol levels boost a healthy heart.

Drawbacks of eating fibre-supplements

1. You may endure stomach distress and bloat. In that case, you can reduce the intake of fibre-supplement slowly and drink a lot of water.
2. You may undergo side-effects if taken with other medications. So, keep a 4-hour gap between taking your medicine and supplements.

Healthy Tips to increase fiber intake

To fulfil a healthy diet, it must comprise a mix of both soluble and insoluble fibers. Here are some standard rules that you can keep in mind while shopping or preparing meals for foods that are rich in fiber. Specific beneficial tips to increase fiber intake are as follows

1.Choose Whole-Food Carb products

If you eat plant-based fiber food along with other carbs, it will make you feel fuller for longer. Moreover, by taking in whole grains, it ensures that you get carbs that have natural fiber. So, you can select antioxidant and rich-food carb which includes a variety of beans, legumes, whole grains, fruits and starchy vegetables.

2.Keep Veggies in Meals, and consume them first

Here, veggies meaning is to eat vegetables before a meal because herb high in fiber are an excellent strategy to enhance your fiber consumption. The Non-starchy plants are a low-calorie and high-fibre option.

3.Eat Air-popped Popcorn

Popcorn is a whole grain which provides over a gram of fiber per cup. Air-popped popcorn believed to be a healthy and delicious snack food.

4.Eat more fruits

In the daily diet plan of your fruits chart, add more fruits high in fiber such as pears, apples and berries as they make a tasty and portable snack food. All nuts contain more or less fibre. Watermelon has one-gram fibre, whereas small pear has five grams of fibre.

5.Use Whole Grains over Refined Grains

Whole grains or Cereal products leave the grains intact, whereas the refined grains shred off their vitamin- germ and fibre-rich hull. Consequently, the grain lasts longer, and it takes away the most nutritious portion of food. So, you can select more of unrefined grain or cereal stocks regularly.

6.Consider a Fiber Supplement

There are many favourable fibre supplements available in the market that you can use if your fibre intake is less. However, no fibre-supplement is needed if you take a good range of whole-plant foods.

7.Take Chia seeds

Chia seeds are nourishing food items which deliver insoluble fiber. Moreover, it supports natural digestion and reduces your risk of diabetes.

8.Avoid Juices

The juices available in the market stripped off the fibre. So, you should munch whole Fruits and vegetables instead of drinking juices. It assures your fiber- intake with less sugar.

9.Eat Avocados

Avocados are an edible fruit which contains fibre. It believed that an avocado delivers 5 grams of fibre. This fruit overall helps to improve the quality of a nutritious diet.

10.Consume nuts, seeds and dry fruits

You can look upon dull fruit images and add nuts and seeds in your food recipes as they provide more nutrition and fiber. You can take them as snacks.

11.Don’t remove the Peel/Skin on Apples, Cucumbers and Sweet Potatoes

When we peel fruits and vegetables, we remove half the fiber. Now the question arises how much fiber in an apple? As food researchers claim that an apple fiber net has 4 grams of fiber, but after peeling only 2 grams are left. Moreover, Peels, being rich in fibre, also provide roughage and prevent constipation.

12.Miscellaneous

• Use high-fibre nutritious flours to bake to muffins, cake pieces of bread etc.
• Use fresh or frozen berries.
• Add more legumes in your diet.
• Check the ingredient list for fibre per serving before buying processed food.

Starch Food vs Fibre

One of the promising benefits of eating starchy foods is that it provides an abundant source of energy and nutrients in our diet. Likewise, starch is rich in fibre, calcium, iron and vitamin B. You will find it in potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and cereals etc.

On the other hand, as already stated fibre provides a good range of compounds found in the cell walls of fruits and vegetables, cereal grains etc. Undigested fibre makes way for other food and waste products to move through the gut quickly. You will find the high potential of fibre in wholegrain starchy foods that contains fiber and potatoes, which is eaten without peeling off their skins.

Both starch and fiber are known to be complex carbs as they act differently in your body. Starchy food is energy-giving stuff but if you are looking for low calories, then intake fibre in your diet is a good option. In our collection, enzymes can break down starches and convert them into sugars to provide energy. However, proteins can’t break down fiber, so it remains partway undigested, ensuring the healthy functioning of the body.

Here, it is concluded that eating starchy fibre food tends to

• Help in weight loss
• Regularise blood circulation
• Improve bowel movements

Nowadays, the ultra-diet cooker is available in markets and store. It helps to remove excess starch from cooked rice. A stove is a good option for people preferring low-fibre diet.

Cornflakes fibre

Cornflakes or puffed rice are nutritious cereal-foodstuffs served with milk to be part of your breakfast. This foodie is made up of toasting flakes of corn and is a popular packaged cereal product. However, they are low in fibre, so you can add well-cut fresh fruits and nuts to make your breakfast balanced and complete. Presence of milled corn, sugar, iron, high fructose corn syrup and vitamins in the nutriment flakes reveals the corn flakes benefit.

Healthful benefits of corn flakes

1.Full of Nutrition

The delicious chips are an excellent source of vitamins, folate, minerals, dietary fiber, proteins, and carbohydrates.

2.Good for Heart

They are low-fat foods keeping your stomach full, thus lessening the intake of needless and unwholesome food. It helps in providing low cholesterol levels; corn flakes are ideal for people having heart diseases.

3.Enriched with Protein

When you combine corn flakes with milk, it makes a protein-rich diet. And, if it’s mixed with honey or almonds, it gets more nutritious.

4.Healthy Lungs

Corn flakes help in facilitating the health of lungs and also prevents lung cancer.

5.Weight loss

The cornflakes are a low-calorie food item that keeps you fit and fine.

Curd and Fiber

Did you know that eating curd daily has impressive health benefits? It originates from milk, and so, it is full of nutrients and minerals like protein, calcium, vitamin B-2, vitamin B-12, potassium, and magnesium. And one question in this pretext is often raised that “Is curd good for weight loss?”. And, the answer is ‘yes’ indeed because Dahi acts as a fat burner and it is light on your stomach. Being enriched with calcium, curd helps in weight loss and sheds off your belly fat. Moreover, a medium-sized bowl of fresh, creamy and homemade curd with your daily meal, can prove to play wonders as it subsists with other benefits too. For instance,

• Adequate for digestion
• Provides stronger immunity,
• Furnishes moisturising effect on our skin,
• Reduces blood pressure
• Discouraging the growth of yeast infections.
• Prevents Vaginal Infections
• strengthens the bones and teeth
• Cooling effect on the body
• A storehouse of good bacteria

As we accept the healthful benefits of curd, you can add a dose of fiber and increase its fullest potential in following natural ways.

• By adding fresh fruits
• Flaxseeds or sunflower seeds
• Cucumber or pumpkin
• Onions and tomatoes
• Added texture to the curry
• Making yummy desserts with added nuts and raisins
• Mint or Jeera raita
• Cherries or blueberries
• Toasted oats
• Bran cereals

Fibre And fast food

We all know that fast food is cheap and readily available, but they lack in good essence. These fast foodies are packed with chemicals and minerals with less or negligible dietary fibre. To find favorable healthy food sometimes becomes a challenge.

Fast food has prestige and stereotype of being unhealthy and high in calories, salt and fat. But, fortunately, the exception does exist because nowadays, some fast-food restaurants deliver healthy choices. In that case, they ensure the intake of fibre by offering food in restaurants as follows

1.Farmhouse Salad

It has a salad-mix with a wide assortment of vegetables that are high in fiber. For instance, butternut squash or Brussels sprouts. Such food content contains 5 grams of fiber.

2.Strawberry Poppy-seed Salad with Chicken

It is a nourishing high-fibrous food item but low in calorie and minerals. It covers 6 grams of fiber

3.Mediterranean Salad

It is olive-oil based salad with a good collection of veggies. It has 5 grams of fibre.

4.Vegetarian Chili

It is served with soup with loaded fiber and protein. Surprisingly, it contains 32 grams of fibre.

5.Grilled Chicken Breast with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes

It is a crispy, delicious and fried food item containing about 4 grams of fiber. In this way, you have a never-ending healthy option ready in hotels and restaurants to choose from the best one.

Conclusion:

Hence, we can say that fibers are also one of the most crucial components as all others are. There is a total of 7 elements of nutrition, i.e. carbs, protein, mineral, vitamin, fats, roughage, water. All these components bind together and help us to do our daily routine work. They all combine to provide nutrients to our body so that you can sustain a good and healthy life.

Fibrous food even helps in losing weight, low blood sugar level and fights constipation. Usually, due to our busy schedule, we don’t reach to the basic requirements of our body. As a result, the body will start becoming weak.

Therefore, fibers are also as crucial as another component of nutrition. You can add fiber-rich sources into your other foodies and gain the same purpose. You can plan a fiber rich diet chart with low- fiber or high-fiber meals according to your health history and body requirements.

In a nutshell, various benefits of fibers are as follows

• Improves digestion
• Heart health
• Blood sugar regulation
• Possible cancer prevention
• Longevity of life
• Avoids allergies and asthma