High Fiber Foods The Dr. Oz Show. Eating high fiber foods helps you stay fuller longer, keeps you regular and boosts colon health. Getting enough fiber can be a challenge, but one certainly worth taking. What Is Fiber Good For Foods' title='What Is Fiber Good For Foods' />About Fiber Fiber Calculator. The National Fiber Council recommends an average of 32 grams of fiber per day for a healthy body. To calculate how much fiber you need. What Is Fiber Good For In The BodyGet started with this list of Dr. Oz approved high fiber heavyweights. Vegetables Artichokes, 1. Broccoli, 5 g of fiber per cup. It is estimated that less than 5 percent of Americans get the recommended amount of dietary fiber each day. High fiber foods help to guard against cancer. Chili Verde. Fiber can help control your blood sugar levels, improve skin health, lower hemorrhoid risk, and provide relief from irritable bowel syndrome IBS. Brussel sprouts, 4 g of fiber per cup High Fiber Food Facts Artichokes are number 7 on the USDAs list of antioxidant rich foods. They also increase the bile flow in the liver, which helps with the digestion of high fat meals, and may lower cholesterol. Grains. Bulgur, 8 g of fiber per cup. Quinoa, 5 g of fiber per cup Brown rice, 4 g of fiber per cup High Fiber Food Facts Bulgur is cracked wheat and a staple of the Mediterranean diet. Its a good vegetarian source of protein. It may help reduce the risk of heart disease and is the perfect addition to a low glycemic index diet. Beans Navy beans, 1. Garbanzo beans,1. Kidney beans, 1. 3 g of fiber per cup High Fiber Food Facts Navy beans are high in magnesium, which lowers your blood pressure. Also, navy beans are an excellent source of folic acid one serving will give you almost 23 of your daily value. Additional High Fiber Foods. Fruits and Nuts Figs, 1. Prunes,1. 2 g of fiber per cup Pear, 5 g of fiber Almonds, 4 g of fiber per cup High Fiber Food Facts Figs are high in antioxidants and traditionally used to treat constipation. This chart graphically details the DV that a serving of Lentils provides for each of the nutrients of which it is a good, very good, or excellent source according to. Did you know a diet rich in fiber could be one of your best cancerprevention weapons Fill your cart with these foods Dietary fiber or roughage is the indigestible portion of food derived from plants. It has two main components Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is readily. Popcorn is a healthy wholegrain snack that contains plenty of fiber. Even though popcorn is low in calories, its fiber content can help you feel full by. Eating highfiber foods helps you stay fuller longer, keeps you regular and boosts colon health. Getting enough fiber can be a challenge, but one certainly worth taking. Fiber supplements can be added to foods and may help people with slow digestion. However, theyre no substitute for eating a highfiber diet, filled with whole foods. Why is Fiber Good For You The Crunchy TruthEat more fiber. The health authorities constantly tell us to eat fiber. They want us to load up on fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Doing this, they say, will help lower cholesterol, relieve constipation and prevent all sorts of diseases. But the actual research doesnt back up many of these claims. Even though fiber has some important benefits, many of the health claims turned out to be false when they were put to the test 1. Fiber is definitely overrated, but it is still an important part of a healthy, real food based diet. Let me explain why. What is Fiber Put simply, dietary fiber is indigestible carbohydrate found in foods. Classically, fiber is split into two categories based on its solubility in water Soluble fiber dissolves in water and can be metabolized by the good bacteria in the gut. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Another more useful way to categorize fiber is fermentable vs non fermentable that is, whether the friendly bacteria in the gut can use it or not. Its important to keep in mind that there are many different types of fiber, just like there are many different types of fats. Some of them have important health benefits, while others are mostly useless. There is also a lot of overlap between soluble and insoluble fibers. Some insoluble fibers can be digested by the good bacteria in the intestine and most foods contain both soluble and insoluble fibers. The health authorities recommend that women eat 2. The Main Reason Fiber is Beneficial, is That it Feeds The Good Bacteria in The Intestine. Did you know that your body is really just 1. Thats because the bacteria that live in the body outnumber the bodys cells 1. Bacteria live on the skin, in the mouth and nose. There are about 5. The bacteria in the gut are also known as the gut flora. This is not a bad thing. We provide the bacteria with shelter and a safe habitat, instead they take care of some things that the human body can not do on its own. There are many different kinds of bacteria. But what does that have to do with fiber Well. They need to get energy from somewhere in order to survive and function. The problem is that most carbs, proteins and fats get absorbed into the bloodstream before they make it to the large intestine. There is nothing left for the gut flora. This is where fiber steps in. However, the intestinal bacteria DO have the enzymes to digest many of these fibers. This is the most important reason that some dietary fibers are important for health. They feed the good bacteria in the intestine, functioning as prebiotics 8. That way, they increase our levels of the good bacteria, which can have various possitive effects on health 9. The friendly bacteria produce nutrients for the body, including short chain fatty acids like acetate, propionate and butyrate, of which butyrate appears to be the most important 1. These short chain fatty acids can feed the cells in the colon, leading to reduced inflammation in the gut and improvements in various digestive disorders like Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Chrons disease and Ulcerative colitis 1. When the bacteria ferment the fiber, they also produce gases. This is the reason high fiber diets can cause flatulence and stomach discomfort, but this usually goes away with time as your body adjusts. Bottom Line Consuming adequate amounts of soluble, fermentable fiber is very important for optimal health, because it optimizes the function of the friendly bacteria in the gut. Some Types of Fiber Can Help You Lose Weight There is conflicting evidence about whether fiber can help people lose weight or not. Some fibers bind water in the intestine, which can slow absorption of nutrients and increase feelings of fullness 1. There are in fact some studies showing that increasing dietary fiber can cause weight loss by automatically reducing calorie intake 1. However, this depends on the type of fiber. Some types have no effect on weight 1. Bottom Line Some types of fiber can cause weight loss by increasing feelings of fullness and leading to reduced calorie intake. Fiber Can Reduce Blood Sugar Spikes After a High Carb Meal Foods that have fiber in them tend to have a lower glycemic index 2. What this means is that they cause smaller spikes in blood sugar after a carbohydrate containing meal 2. This can be important. In these cases, the fiber can reduce the likelihood of the carbs spiking your blood sugar to harmful levels. But really. if you have blood sugar issues, then it would make much more sense just to skip the carbs instead of trying to minimize the damage using fiber. Bottom Line Foods that contain fiber have a lower glycemic index and cause smaller spikes in blood sugar than foods that are low in fiber. Fiber Can Reduce Cholesterol, But The Effect Isnt Huge Some types of fiber can reduce blood cholesterol levels. However, the effect isnt nearly as impressive as you may think. A review of 6. 7 controlled trials found that 2 1. Total cholesterol by 1. LDL cholesterol by 2. But this also depends on the type of fiber and some studies have found impressive reductions in cholesterol with increased fiber intake 2. Whether this has any meaningful effects in the long term is not known, although many observational studies do show that people who eat more fiber have a lower risk of heart disease 2. Bottom Line Some types of fiber can reduce cholesterol levels, although the effect isnt very large on average. What About Fiber and Constipation One of the main purported benefits of fiber is reduced constipation. Fiber is claimed to help absorb water, increase the bulk of the stool and speed up movement of stool through the intestine. Given how almost every health professional believes that fiber can help with constipation, you would think that there was strong evidence behind it. However, the results are actually fairly conflicting 2. Some studies show that adding fiber can improve symptoms of constipation, but other studies show that removing fiber improves constipation. In one study of 6. According to one review of 6 studies, soluble fiber can help with constipation, while insoluble fiber has no effect 3. For this reason, I think it is questionable to recommend fiber to everyone with constipation. It may help some people, but it can make matters worse for others. Bottom Line The evidence about fiber helping with constipation is surprisingly weak and the studies do not agree. This appears to depend on the individual, as well as the type of fiber. There is no Evidence That Fiber Protects Against Colorectal Cancer There is a common myth that fiber can prevent colorectal cancer, which is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the world 3. There were some initial studies showing that fiber was associated with a lower risk of colorectal cancer, but higher quality studies havent found any link 3. Fiber May be Overrated, But it Still Has Important Health Benefits The health benefits of fiber are not as clear cut as you might think, given how enthusiastically many nutritionists recommend that we eat it. However, it is definitely true that fiber rich foods tend to be healthier than low fiber foods. But thats because high fiber foods tend to be whole, unprocessed foods. The recommended amount of 2. There is no evidence that eating less fiber than that has any harmful effects. For this reason, I dont think there is any reason to load up on whole grains or legumes to get more fiber into your diet. At the end of the day, fiber appears to be overrated. But fiber is still an essential part of a healthy diet.