High Fiber Foods: The Right Nutrients For a Healthy Life

Watching fat and sugar intake is important, but eating the right amount of high-fiber foods isn’t talked about enough!

While most blogs would rather cover the next yo-yo diet, we’ve found that there’s a surprising amount to cover about fiber.

Dietary fiber is found in many plant foods and is essentially a form of carbohydrates that your body cannot break down.

This quality allows the fiber to move from your stomach and all the way through your digestive tract.

This distinguishes fiber from most nutrients, which get absorbed into your bloodstream before reaching your intestinal tract.

There are many health benefits of high-fiber foods!

Here’s which sources of fiber are most recommended to integrate into your diet.

Here are 7 good carbs that are actually healthy!

How High-Fiber Foods Improve Your Diet

We might get a little technical here as we explain how exactly fiber complements your diet.

But bear with us — we’ll have a skimmable list of key fibrous foods coming up.

Here are the top ways that high-fiber foods improve your overall health.

Digestive Health

During fiber’s journey through the stomach and intestines, it picks up water.

This helps your digestion become more regular and reduces constipation.

Fiber also helps to clear out old or bad bacteria in your gut, which can help to prevent colon cancer.

Gut Health

As you probably know, there are about 500 different species of good bacteria living within the human intestine.

This good bacteria gets much of its nutrients from dietary fiber.

Fiber remains intact from our stomach through our intestines, allowing the good bacteria a food source.

Weight Loss

Because fiber absorbs water in the small intestine, it can contribute to the feeling of being “full” and can help you eat less.

However, studies have shown that this is only true for certain types of soluble fibers, such as glucomannan.

Cholesterol and Heart Health

Soluble fiber, such as that found in beans and oats, has been found to lower bad cholesterol.

Additionally, high-fiber foods have been shown to reduce blood pressure, inflammation, and risk of heart disease, stroke, and hypertension.

Overall, integrating healthy amounts of fiber from natural sources — like fruit, vegetables, and grains — can help to round out a healthy diet.

The Best High-Fiber Foods To Eat

Perhaps the best part about high-fiber foods is how easy they are to find and how many of them you probably already love.

The recommended daily intake of fiber for women is about 25 grams a day.

Between three meals a day and snacks, you can absolutely find a way to hit your recommended dose.

High Fiber Fruits

Fruit is one of the most popular ways to get your fiber intake. As they say, fruit is nature’s candy!

Just don’t forget to eat the peels on fruits like apples — this is where much of the fiber is stored.

The following fruits are recommended because they have more grams of fiber per cup than other fruits.

Passionfruit – 25 grams
Avocado – 10 grams
Guava – 9 grams
Raspberries – 8 grams
Pears – 5 grams
Apple – 4.5 grams
Strawberries – 3 grams

High Fiber Vegetables

It might take a little more convincing to get your kiddos to eat more vegetables, but they’re another great source of fiber.

A good rule of thumb when selecting vegetables for their fiber content is that the richer the color, the more fiber it has.

The following vegetables are recommended because they have more grams of fiber per cup than other vegetables.

Lima beans – 9 grams
Acorn squash – 9 grams
Peas – 9 grams
Collard greens – 8 grams
Artichokes – 7 grams
Butternut squash – 7 grams

High Fiber Grains

In their natural form, grains are an entire seed. When grains are refined and portions of the seeds are removed, you lose key vitamins such as fiber.

That’s why focusing on whole grains is an easy way to get more fiber in your diet.

The following grains are recommended because they have more grams of fiber per cup than other grains.

Cracked wheat – 8 grams
Teff – 7 grams
Quinoa – 5 grams
Whole wheat pasta – 5 grams
Buckwheat – 5 grams
Oatmeal – 4 grams

From Your Plate to Your Life

Finding the right nutrients are just the beginning of a healthy life.

The Fit Mother Project was built to be a trusted, safe place for women to get ideas on how to up their health and fitness game.

We’ve grown to be a resource to thousands of moms who are connecting about their fitness success.

Whether you’re looking for fitness motivation at the beginning of your journey or for tips that will help you over a plateau, the Fit Mother Project can be that resource for you.

The Fit Mom 3-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart is one of our most popular programs, designed to give you a free diet and exercise guide that you can do all on your own — no gym needed.

Join the movement of fit moms by signing up for the Fit Mom 3-Day Weight Loss Jumpstart today!

*Please know that weight loss results & health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on high-fiber foods.

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