13 High-Fiber Foods and Their Many Health Benefits

It’s no secret that healthy eating is important. But many food plans only talk about healthy fat, carbs, and protein—they leave fiber out of the conversation. This is unfortunate because fiber is such a key component of nutritious eating due to its numerous health benefits. Learn why you need fiber in your diet and which high-fiber foods can help you get your recommended amount.

Fiber Basics: What It Is and Different Types

Fiber is a type of carbohydrate found in plants. The body can’t digest it, so it passes through our digestive tract without being fully broken down and is eliminated as part of our solid waste. 

There are two types of fiber, both of which contribute to good health: 

• Soluble fiber. Soluble fiber dissolves in water. When it dissolves, it develops a gel-like consistency. This helps slow the digestive process. Soluble fiber helps keep our stools soft, making for more comfortable bowel movements. 

• Insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water. Because of this, it adds bulk to our solid waste. Insoluble fiber helps keep food moving through our digestive tract.

Why You Want to Eat Enough Fiber: Its Many Health Benefits

Fiber is important for digestive health. Don’t get enough in your diet and you can become constipated. Research indicates that as many as one in three adults deal with constipation, leading to almost one million doctor’s visits per year. This can cause you to strain during bowel movements, potentially leading to hemorrhoids. (1)

Another digestion-related benefit of fiber is that can help reduce our risk of cancer. Colorectal cancer is cancer that develops in the colon or rectum. Studies show that people with a higher fiber intake tend to have a lower colorectal cancer risk. (2)

You can’t talk about fiber’s health benefits without mentioning its effect on cholesterol. High cholesterol levels can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke. Harvard Health explains that fiber helps reduce these levels by trapping fats in our intestines. This keeps them from being absorbed where they can clog our arteries and veins. (3)

Eating enough fiber even assists with blood sugar control. One reason carbs have a bad name is that many of them can cause our blood sugar to spike. If you’ve ever eaten a candy bar on an empty stomach, you know what this feels like. 

Blood sugar spikes from time to time may not have much of an impact on our health. However, if levels remain high over time, it can create major issues, especially for people with diabetes. The Cleveland Clinic reports that consistently high blood sugar, also referred to as hyperglycemia, can negatively affect our nerves, kidneys, and eyes. (4)

Since the body can’t digest fiber, it doesn’t have this effect on glucose levels. Eating enough dietary fiber makes it easier to keep these levels in a healthy range.

Another Benefit of a High-Fiber Diet: Weight Loss

If you or a training client wants to lose weight, eating high fiber can help with this too. One of the biggest hurdles to weight loss is always feeling hungry. If you’re eating less than you’re used to, your stomach rumbles more and food is constantly on your mind. This can make it difficult to choose nutritious foods.

Since fiber slows digestion, you feel fuller longer. This reduces the urge to want to eat, leading to fewer calories consumed. Plus, most foods that are high-fiber tend to be low-calorie. Add them to your diet then and you can feel full while still creating the calorie deficit needed for weight loss. In this way, eating fiber can make it easier to reach your fitness goals.

Once you’ve lost weight, sticking with a high-fiber meal plan can help keep the weight off. Many people struggle with weight management after weight loss. Before they know it, the number on the scale starts to go up. Focus on eating high-fiber foods and it can help the number on the scale stay in a healthy range.

How Much Dietary Fiber Do I Need?

Before we get into foods that are a good source of fiber, let’s talk about how much you need. According to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, adult females should aim for 22 to 28 grams of fiber daily. Adult males need slightly more, or roughly 28 to 24 grams of fiber per day. (5)

The National Library of Medicine reports that most people don’t consume enough dietary fiber. (6) If you’re one of them, you may be intent on getting your recommended fiber intake. That’s great but it’s important to not ramp up too quickly. 

If you start eating a lot of fiber and your body isn’t used to it, you’re likely to experience gas, bloating, and gastrointestinal distress. Instead, increase your fiber intake slowly. This can help prevent these unpleasant effects.

13 Top High-Fiber Foods

When looking for fiber-rich food sources, remember that this carb comes from plants. Plant food that is often high in fiber includes fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and lentils.

Specific foods that are a great source of dietary fiber include: 

1. Avocado – 13.5 grams per fruit

2. Black beans – 15 grams per cup 

3. Brown rice – 4.3 grams per half cup 

4. Chia seeds – 9.75 grams per ounce

5. Chickpeas – 5.92 grams per half cup

6. Green peas – 5.95 grams per 2/3 cup

7. Lentils – 7.8 grams per half cup

8. Lima beans – 5.8 grams per half cup

9. Navy beans – 6.85 grams per half cup

10. Oats – 3.98 grams per cup

11. Split peas – 8.15 grams per half cup

12. Sweet potato – 8.2 grams per cup

13. Whole wheat pasta – 4.56 grams per cup

Several of these high-fiber foods are also a good source of protein. That makes them a great choice if you’re trying to get more of both.

Even if you don’t eat a lot of high-fiber foods, remember that foods with lower amounts still contribute to your total fiber intake. For instance, one-half cup of Brussels sprouts has 2.03 grams of fiber (roughly 0.5 grams per Brussels sprout). Add side dishes of this and other vegetables and you can easily get more fiber in your diet.

How to Find the Fiber Content of Food

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides dietary fiber for foods in its FoodData Central database. Input the food into the search bar, hit enter, and you’re provided with a variety of information. 

In addition to fiber, this database will tell you how much protein, carbs, and fat the food has. It also tells you about its vitamin and mineral makeup. This makes it beneficial if you’re trying to consume more of a particular nutrient, such as vitamin A or vitamin C.

Notice the serving size when trying to determine a food’s fiber content. Often, the database defaults to a certain number of grams. However, for many items, you can switch this to more understandable servings, such as how much fiber is in one or one-half cup of that plant food.

What About Fiber Supplements?

If you don’t get enough of this healthy carb in your diet, you may consider a fiber supplement. However, Stanford Medicine warns that not everyone reacts the same to these dietary aids. (7)

According to their research, some fiber supplements helped people reduce their LDL cholesterol, also known as “bad” cholesterol. Yet, for others taking the same fiber supplements, it increased their inflammation. This highlights the importance of a personalized diet and supplement plan.

Whether you’re a fitness trainer or simply want to learn how to improve your health with diet, ISSA’s Nutritionist Certification course is for you. This course teaches you how to develop an individualized eating and supplementation plan for yourself or your clients that supplies all the nutrients needed to look and feel your best.

References

1. Lembo, A. (2023). Chronic constipation. In Elsevier eBooks (pp. 263–276). https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-13911-6.00009-8

2. Ocvirk, S., Wilson, A., Appolonia, C. N., Thomas, T. K., & O’Keefe, S. J. (2019). Fiber, Fat, and Colorectal Cancer: New Insight into Modifiable Dietary Risk Factors. Current Gastroenterology Reports, 21(11). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11894-019-0725-2

3. Harvard Health. (2019, June 24). Fiber-full eating for better health and lower cholesterol. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/fiber-full-eating-for-better-health-and-lower-cholesterol-2019062416819

4. Professional, C. C. M. (n.d.). Hyperglycemia (High blood sugar). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9815-hyperglycemia-high-blood-sugar

5. Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020 - 2025 (Ninth Edition). (2020). U.S. Department of Agriculture. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2020-12/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans_2020-2025.pdf

6. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Dietary fiber. https://medlineplus.gov/dietaryfiber.html

7. Fiber supplements aren’t one-size-fits-all, study shows. (2022, April 28). News Center. https://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2022/04/fiber-supplements.html