Getting More Fiber into Your Diet

We’ve been telling you how important it is to get 40-100 grams of dietary fiber in your diet daily to support a healthy gut population of good bacteria (probiotics), which in turn probably does more to ensure the health of your whole body than any other single factor.

And we’ve told you that at least 95 percent of the US population doesn’t get enough fiber, and challenged you to calculate how much fiber you get on a daily basis.

Odds are you came up short.  We did when we took the Fiber Challenge ourselves!  It takes a lot of consciousness to include 40-100 grams of fiber in a day’s diet!

We’ve found a few simple ways to include more fiber that we’d like to share with you.

But first, don’t start bombarding your intestines with a huge quantity of fiber all at once! This could lead to constipation and bad flatulence. Instead, measure your average fiber intake and add more gradually, a maximum of 5 grams a day, interspersed throughout the day, until you reach your goal. Be ready to scale back temporarily if you develop unpleasant gastrointestinal symptoms.  It may take 2-3 months, but you’ll eventually adjust! 

Also, when adding fiber, it’s very important to drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day! 

So, here’s what we’ve found to help incorporate more fiber.

Start your day with 1 cup of a cooked, whole-grain cereal (6 grams of fiber) and add half a cup of berries (2 grams), a sprinkle of nuts or seeds (1 gram) and a scoop of Beyond Health’s Dietary Fiber Formula (7 grams) for a total of 16 grams—more than the average person gets in a day! When you’re ready, add a second scoop of Dietary Fiber Formula for a total of 23 grams.

Be sure it’s whole grain—most breakfast cereals are little more than junk foods . And learn how to prepare beans and grains the traditional way to make them digestible and to preserve minerals.  It’s also best to soak nuts and seeds overnight. 

An alternative breakfast could be two scoops of our Berry Meal Blast meal replacement powder (11 grams of fiber) and a cup of blueberries (4 grams) for a total of 15 grams, or add a scoop of Dietary Fiber Formula for a total of 23 grams. 

Beans and legumes are the richest source of fiber (11-16 grams per cup). Experiment with international cuisines like Indian and Middle Eastern centered on grains and beans.  Use hummus (made from chickpeas (6 grams per 3.5 ounces) for a fiber-rich snack with raw vegetables. Sprout beans and seeds. Vegetarian chili and thick bean soups also hit the spot on these cold winter evenings.  You can also add Dietary Fiber Formula to any soup or stew; it dissolves easily and though it adds thickness it doesn’t interfere with taste. 

Organic popcorn is another high-fiber snack at 3½ grams an ounce.

Bean and seed sprouts have about 2 grams of fiber per cup, are low in calories and relatively high in plant protein.

Wash fruits and vegetables carefully and use the peel where practical: the peel and pulp hold most of the fiber. 

Eat more vegetables, especially raw, or steamed lightly so they stay crunchy.  (Cooking tends to break down fiber into digestible carbohydrate.) 

Also, choose whole fruit over fruit juice since the juice has very little fiber.  Smoothies, however, are another story; blended fruits and vegetables retain their fiber content.

So bon appétit and let us know how you’re doing!