Health is wealth. You have perhaps heard, read and said this universal truth a thousand times. This is true, but more so after Covid-19 has hit the Earth hard. In a post-pandemic world, people will always be more health-conscious. People will spend more time to stay healthy. They will spend more money to stay healthy. Even if a viable vaccine is available in the market, people still need to eat and stay fit. So, you have to make yourself a complete diet that helps you keep diseases away. An apple a day keeps a doctor away. Well, had it been true, life would have been great. However, twentieth-century life is not that simple. To stay healthy, you have to take care of your everyday diet. It will help if you prefer a diet that is rich in every nutrient. One of the essential nutrients that you need in your diet is fiber. It would help if you got a high fiber foods chart to make sure your diet is full of it. It is a well-known fact that foods with higher dietary fiber help in keeping your body fit in many ways.
In this article, you would learn about how high fiber diet keeps you healthier. You would also know how you can add more helpful fiber into your regular diet chart. And you will, of course, get a specific high fiber foods chart. Win-win, pal!
Table of Contents
Why do you need high fiber food?
There are multiple positive effects that a high fiber diet has on human health. High fiber food plays a vital role in making a person’s physical health better. High fiber food means the kind of food that contains dietary fibers in rich quantity. Dietary fibers are also known as the roughage of food. It is the part of food that does not digest after consuming.
You can get high fiber from plant foods. Most vegetables are the leading suppliers of high fiber in the food kingdom. So, if you want to add more fiber to your food chart, you should add more vegetable, fruit, legumes and whole grains and so on. Before stuffing yourself with every single food that your high fiber foods chart suggests, let’s see why you should do it.
Before going through a dietary change, ask yourself why do you need this. So, before adding more fiber to your diet, ask yourself “why do you need high fiber food?” Here are some of the significant benefits of high fiber foods.
The first and foremost benefit of fiber intake is that it helps you get a clean bowel movement. Whereas it matters less among younger people, most older adults have clearer bowel movement as an effect of high fiber foods. Doctors often suggest them to increase their intake of high fiber along with prescribing laxative. So, the first benefit of a high fiber diet is a clean gut.
It controls diabetes:
If you are running the risk of diabetes, you should add more fiber to your diet. High fiber foods help control existing irregularities of sugar in your blood. Having an extreme amount of blood sugar can be detrimental to your health. So, keeping it under control is the best thing you can do. That is why having the proper quantity of fiber in a regular diet is so important.
Multiple reports show that a high fiber diet decreases the level of sugar absorption in the blood. This helps reduce blood sugar by preventing sugar spike in blood after large meals.
A group of scientists did a study on the effect of high fiber foods on regulating blood sugar in human beings in 2018. The study was extremely successful, and it showed that subjects who had regularly taken high fiber diet showed the result. They generated a lower risk of succumbing to the risks of diabetes type 2. Moreover, these subjects also had a slight reduction in their blood sugar level, that is the glucose level in their blood. Overall, it is believed and testified, consuming a high fiber diet reduces your chance of diabetes, the silent killer. If your diet has not been full of high roughage veggies, make a new plan and stick to it.
High fiber diet in obesity management:
High fiber foods chart shows that it helps one lose excess weight regularly. For those who aim at maintaining weight, high fiber diet can facilitate the process of weight loss. The reasons are two in number. Firstly, a diet that is rich in dietary fiber or roughage makes one feel comparatively fuller than other kind of diets. This way, one does not feel hungry for a long time after such a meal. The second reason is that high fiber foods take a longer time to digest. Consequently, the person does not get hungry for the next few hours. Therefore, a high fiber diet makes a person easily adhere to a particular diet chart.
In 2019, a study showed that those people, who increased their fiber intake, had initiated the process of losing weight sooner. In comparison, those who did not increase their intake amount of fiber, they end up losing less weight. So, if you are struggling with yourself to stick to a diet plan, high fiber foods chart is your answer. Drop every other dietary plan and make room on your refrigerator for a new high fiber foods chart.
Weight loss initiates a healthy living. A perfect weight does help you avoid a staple of complicated diseases in the prime of your youth. Even during old ages, you will never have to face a bunch of diseases if you check your excess weight. If you think this way, maintaining a perfect weight is the key to stay healthy. And a high fiber diet plan will show you the right way.
Say goodbye to heavy heart:
Jokes apart, it is true that a diet rich with roughage will keep your heart without the disease. Well, if not entirely away, this high roughage diet will at least help you in keeping your heart healthy. How does it do that? Prominent scientists in relevant disciplinary areas have studied the effects of high fiber on the human heart. Results were beneficial. Among the successful studies, a 2017 study showed that regular consumption of dietary fiber significantly reduces the risks of any cardiovascular ailments. This, in turn, reduces mortality rate related to these diseases.
High roughage content has this heart-protective tendency because these foods reduce the amount of total cholesterol of your body. More specifically, roughages lower the quantity of LDL or as it is commonly known as the Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol. This LDL is the ‘bad cholesterol’ of your body, which is actually behind the majority of heart diseases. So, have an excellent roughage diet, and keep your heart young and healthy forever.
Makes your gut health better:
As the article says earlier, roughage-based diet primarily helps you maintain a healthy gut. Roughages or dietary fibers can keep your gut super healthy. If you take a large portion of fiber, it can relieve your constipation. The high fiber diet plan also keeps your waste smoothly moving in your digestion system and out of your body. Having enough fiber encourages gut microbiota, which is healthy for your body.
Fibers in food increase the amount of on e’s stool and help a man maintain a regular bowel movement. Food fibers also make the time shorter during which waste remains in your body. So, the more fiber you eat, the more you have time outside of your toilet.
You can avoid multiple diseases for good by making your regular diet a roughage based diet. Among the diseases, the major ones are haemorrhoids, colorectal ulcer, diverticular disease, hiatal hernias, and gastroesophageal reflux and so on. A relatively recent study has even suggested that a high fiber diet plan might reduce an individual’s risk of developing colorectal cancer. Are you now hurrying to add more fiber to your diet? Of course, you are!
How much roughage should you take daily?
The daily intake amount of roughage differs according to several nutritionists. However, in general, the proper amount that one could take daily is agreed upon. The generally recommended amount that you can take of dietary fiber is- 38 gram in a day for male adults. For adult females, the amount is 25 gram in a day. This particular amount of fibers in your 2,000 calorie diet would suffice your fiber needs.
Again, the necessity of fiber differs for people of different age. Older adults do not need as much fiber as young adults. So, once you cross the 50 years bridge, your need for dietary fiber decreases. For women, the perfect amount of fiber is 21 gram after 50 years. Men after 50 should target to intake at least 30 gram a day. For pregnant ladies, the requirement is higher. Women should have 28 gram of roughage during pregnancy. Breastfeeding women should also increase their daily intake of roughage to keep their health good. Hopefully, this settles the question of how much roughage you should take daily.
High fiber foods chart:
Now, what should you eat to increase the amount of high fiber in your daily diet? Here is a draft of a good meal, rich in dietary fiber content that you can follow:
Breakfast:
Two slices of thick wholemeal bread, roasted (fiber 6.5g)
For topping, you can add sliced banana, one whole (1.4g)
One medium glass of fruit pulp (1.5g)
This bre3akfast would account for almost 9.4g dietary fiber.
Lunch:
For lunch, the largest meal of the day, you can have-
A roasted potato, of course with the skin on (2.6g)
200g of baked beans, tossed in tomato sauce, with reduced sugar and salt (9.8g)
An apple, medium-sized (1.3g)
This meal would have a total of 13.7g of roughage content.
Dinner:
Vegetable curry, with a large portion of tomato, cooked along with spices and onion, garlic, ginger (3.3g)
Wholegrain or brown rice, according to your appetite (2.8g)
Fruit yoghurt, low on fat, low on sugar (0.4g)
This dinner will end up giving your body around 6.5g fiber.
Snack time:
During evening or afternoon, if you want to go for some high fiber snack, a handful of nut would be perfect for you. This amount of nuts has almost 3g of fiber content. But, keep it in mind you have to get non-salted nuts. Often almonds and peanuts are available as sugar-coated. Do try to avoid those as well.
This total high fiber foods chart would give you a total fiber of 32g or so.
Smart tips to increase your fiber intake
It is crucial to get your fiber need to be fulfilled from a variety of sources. Keep your diet not without variations. Have wholegrain biscuits, high fiber cereals, or oats or porridge. You can also have shredded plain whole grain or shredded wheat. Try to avoid white wheat bread. Brown wheat bread is higher in fiber. Try to add beans, chickpeas or lentils to your diet. If you have potato, try to have it with the skin. Eat a high amount of vegetables and fruits, as fiber is available mostly in these. Fresh or dried, fruits are always a great option.
So, fiber or roughage is a crucial element that you should have the proper amount of through your diet. There are a hundred diseases and inconveniences that you can avoid by a healthy intake of dietary fiber. Yet, surveys show that most people eat less fiber than they need. The given high fiber foods chart can give you the right amount of dietary fiber for better health. Maintaining a regular diet is essential if you expect a visible change in your health. So, follow the chart and stick to it for about two months, and see the result. However, eating a high fiber diet will have long time positivity on your health.