The Best High Fiber Foods

Dietary fiber, also sometimes known as roughage, is the part of plant foods that your body can’t digest. Unlike carbohydrates or protein which are broken down and absorbed by the body, fiber passes through your stomach and intestines pretty much intact.  This may sound like it isn’t as important as those other components, but it has some really great health benefits. I’ll get to that in just a minute, but first of all…

The National Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Medicine recommends that women get at least 25 grams and men get 38 grams of fiber every day. The average American gets less than 15. Obviously we need to be doing better.

For the purposes of the challenge, each “serving” should be at least 8-10 grams of fiber (10-12+ for men) to get you to the daily recommended total. Remember though, those grams can come from many different sources. Your fruit and vegetable servings are a particularly good place to get your fiber. Gotta love foods that count in more than one category! 🙂What are the health benefits of eating enough fiber?
A high fiber diet has many health benefits which include easier weight loss and maintenance, lower blood cholesterol levels, reduced risk of developing type 3 diabetes, less intestinal complaints, and even possibly a reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.

As with any area of nutrition, I highly recommend you stick with real food, as opposed to fiber supplements or highly processed foods with fiber added. Fruit, veggies, legumes and 100% whole grans are great sources of fiber. Here are just a few examples of high-fiber foods.

Raspberries: 1 cup = 8 grams

Spaghetti (whole-wheat, cooked): 1 cup = 6.2 grams

Pear (with skin): 1 medium = 5.5 grams

Broccoli (steamed or boiled): 1 cup = 5.1 grams

Potato (with skin, baked): 1 medium = 5 grams

Apple (with skin): 1 medium 4.4 grams

Corn (cooked): 1 cup = 4.2 grams

Strawberries: 1 1/4 cup = 4 grams

Banana: 1 medium = 3.1 grams

Orange: 1 medium = 3.1 grams

Raisins: 2 Tablespoons = 1 gram

You can find a larger list of foods and their fiber content HERE. If you can’t find the food you are looking for on either of these lists, just type “how much fiber is in ____” into a search engine. I’ve always been able to find out that way.

*Don’t forget to include adequate water intake in your diet when you increase your fiber! 🙂