Fiber often comes from plant cell walls. It's meant to protect the seeds or cell contents within. Those contents are full of vitamins and minerals - so high fiber foods often pack a double whammy.
According to the government, you should eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber a day. Grams?
Let’s just say that 30 grams is a lot. Most people get barely half that, even with a daily salad and a side of succotash at dinner.
To give you an idea of how much fiber this is:
- Whole-wheat English muffin, both halves…3 grams. Three! Not anywhere near 30!
- Bran flakes, ¾ cup (which is not a lot)….5 grams
- 2 medium dried figs…5 grams. We may need to eat more figs!
- Black bean soup, 1 cup…10 grams. Wow—good one.
Eating more fiber is more of a state of mind than a big exercise. Eat the skin of the baked potato, don’t peel carrots, eat greens with a reedy or fleshy stem, include nuts in your daily intake. Broccoli! Spinach. Apples. Oatmeal. Popcorn.
After a few days, you will get results you can see. Ahhh.
Is there such a thing as high fiber white bread?