Increasing your fiber intake doesn’t mean you have to subsist solely on beans. Experts share their picks for the top fiber-rich foods that can also add pizzazz to your eating routine.
From decreasing constipation and inflammation to reducing risks of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, fiber functions as an essential part of healthy living. And with emerging evidence of fiber’s positive impact on your gut microbiome, making sure you achieve the daily fiber recommendation is becoming more important than ever.
“Dietary fiber, especially prebiotic foods [foods that are a fuel source for probiotics], feeds beneficial gut bacteria so they can create byproducts [called] short-chain fatty acids that support the gut barrier, decrease inflammation, manage the pH of the gut, and keep oxidative stress at bay, which basically helps you look younger,” says Paulina Lee, a functional gut health dietitian based in Texas.
But research suggests most of us aren’t getting nearly enough fiber, only consuming 15 grams of the daily recommended 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men, according to a study published in 2013 in the journal Advances in Nutrition.
The good news is that adding more fiber to your diet with some powerhouse fiber-rich foods doesn’t have to be complicated. Better yet, it’s easy and delicious.
How to Increase Your Fiber Intake
One of the first and most important steps toward increasing fiber is to become more aware of it, says Erica Steele, a board-certified naturopathic doctor based in Virginia. “Get present as to what foods contain fiber and what foods don’t,” she tells DailyOM. “Awareness is key when you are looking to make any dietary change.”
As you take a closer look at nutrition labels, you’ll often see one number for “dietary fiber,” but sometimes it will be broken into two categories: soluble and insoluble fiber.
Soluble fiber absorbs water and turns into a gel. This gel collects the not-so-healthy things lingering in our digestive tracts and helps regulate blood sugar and lipid levels, particularly LDL (“bad cholesterol”) levels. Soluble fiber also serves as food for the gut bacteria in the colon.
Insoluble fiber is what helps move food, waste, and toxins out of the body. Together, both soluble and insoluble fiber provide a myriad of health benefits.
“Fiber intake is important because of its ability to improve serum lipid levels, lower blood pressure, improve blood glucose control, promote bowel regularity, aid in weight loss, and improve immune function,” says Lee.
Interested in learning more? Check out The Fiber Effect to Heal the Body
9 Fiber-Rich Foods to Add to Your Diet
The best fiber-rich foods are whole and unprocessed, Lee says. That means fruits and vegetables in their natural form will be your best bet when increasing fiber intake. But you don’t have to eat them to reap their full fiber benefits; you can also drink them.
The good news is that adding more fiber to your diet with some powerhouse fiber-rich foods doesn’t have to be complicated. Better yet, it’s easy and delicious.
Blended foods, such as smoothies, maintain their fiber content, according to a study published in 2018 in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition. So think of blending like chewing, which may even help with digesting raw fruits or veggies, Lee says. Incorporate the following top-expert picks into your diet.
1. Avocados
Avocados are an ideal fiber source because they contain a blend of 75 percent soluble and 25 percent insoluble fiber, packing in 10 grams of dietary fiber in one full avocado, according to Harvard Health.
How to enjoy them: Sprinkle mashed avocado with some lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and sea salt, and spread some on a rice cake for a satisfying, high-fiber snack, Lee suggests.
2. Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are another good source of fiber, particularly when you keep their skins on. Keeping sweet potato skins on increases their fiber content to 6 grams per cup.
In comparison, a regular baked potato (with the skins on) has only 3 grams of fiber per cup. So opt for sweet potatoes with the skin intact whenever possible.
“Peeled sweet potatoes have almost 60 percent less fiber than sweet potatoes with their skin on, so a bulk of the fiber in sweet potatoes comes from its skin,” Lee explains.
How to enjoy them: Slice sweet potatoes into pieces of "toast.” Roast them and add toppings, like avocado, sauerkraut, and smoked salmon, Lee recommends.
3. Raw Oats
While cooked oats can be a boon to your fiber consumption, raw oats are a great source of soluble fiber and are also considered a resistant starch. Resistant starches are sometimes referred to as a “third fiber” because they serve as a prebiotic — a food source for the beneficial gut bacteria in your colon.
“Many know oats for their beta-glucan heart-protective properties,” explains Kara Landau, a New York-based registered dietitian at Gut Feeling Consultancy and nutrition advisor to the Global Prebiotic Association. “However, the resistant starch is another powerful component of oats that, if consumed in the correct format, can lead to much greater benefits for you. When you cook the oats, you will lose some of the resistant starch benefits, so eating them raw will help maximize the health benefits.”
How to enjoy them: Make energy balls by combining raw oats, nut butter, a little honey, and dark chocolate chips in a food processor. Roll into balls, refrigerate, and keep on hand for snacks throughout the week. Overnight oats are another delicious way to enjoy raw oats.
4. Green Bananas
Green — as in unripe — bananas are a top gut-friendly food because they offer a rich source of resistant starch and dietary fiber, Landau says. Eating them raw is the best way to reap their digestive benefits.
“Heating recipes that incorporate green banana flour will destroy the resistant starch, and therefore, you will not reap the same digestive and gut health benefits as from an uncooked dish,” Landau explains.
How to enjoy them: “Green bananas can be incorporated into smoothies, or in a powder format that can be easily added to many uncooked dishes as a dry flour replacement,” Landau says.
As long as you’re using 100 percent green banana powder, you will reap the same benefits as the whole fruit. You can even try adding green banana flour to energy balls for an extra fiber boost.
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5. Raspberries
These sweet little red berries are “one of the densest sources of dietary fiber in a natural fruit format,” Landau says. In fact, just 1 cup of raspberries provides 8 grams of dietary fiber. That helps women meet a third of their daily fiber goal, and men, a quarter of it.
Plus, raspberries are rich in antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that benefit your overall digestive and metabolic health, Steele says.
How to enjoy them: Eat raspberries as is for a simple snack, try them as a yogurt parfait filling, or pile some atop whole-grain French toast.
6. Legumes
Legumes — which include beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas — are one of the best sources of fiber.
“They contain soluble and insoluble fiber and are also rich in protein. The soluble fiber allows for bowel movement regulation and growth of beneficial bacteria,” Steele says.
One cup of split peas provides 16 grams of fiber, while 1 cup of cooked lentils has 15 grams of fiber. So between the two of those, you’ve met your daily quota of fiber.
How to enjoy them: Lentil and split pea soup are both easy, nutritious recipes that freeze well. You can also add some crunch to your salads by roasting chickpeas with extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and cumin.
7. Quinoa
Whole grains, such as quinoa and brown rice, contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, which help promote regular bowel movements and healthy digestion. Just 1 cup of cooked quinoa offers a solid 5 grams of fiber. These ancient grains also contain important health-promoting nutrients, such as B vitamins, iron, and magnesium, Steele says.
How to enjoy it: Add quinoa to your soups, salads, and even baked goods like muffins to make them extra filling, heartier, and more nutrient-dense.
8. Chicory Root
Chicory root is a great source of inulin — a prebiotic fiber — which acts as a food source for beneficial gut bacteria. Like all fiber-rich foods, it’s best to gradually introduce chicory root and other foods with inulin, like Jerusalem artichokes and agave-sourced inulin, into your diet, Landau says.
“Most people have been shown to be able to tolerate 5 grams [of inulin] per day without negative side effects. However, as people build up a tolerance, they can ideally reach closer to 12 grams per day,” says Landau.
How to enjoy it: You can brew roasted chicory root just as you would coffee or tea; sipping it offers the same benefits as eating it. Add a little steamed nut milk and cinnamon to make it into a yummy latte.
9. Chia Seeds
“Chia seeds are a good source of soluble fiber. They form a gel-like substance when soaked in water, which can add bulk to your stool,” Steele says. Just 2 tablespoons of chia seeds pack 10 grams of fiber. As a bonus, chia seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids, which is a natural anti-inflammatory, Steele notes.
How to enjoy them: Prepare chia pudding by soaking 2 tablespoons of chia seeds in ½ cup of unsweetened nut milk overnight. Top with raspberries for an extra fiber kick.
Adding Fiber to Your Diet
If you have goals of consuming the recommended 25 to 38 grams of fiber daily, but aren’t there yet, start low and slow.
“When someone is doing anything different with the body, it’s key to slowly add these into the diet rather than have the body quickly adjust,” Steele says. “I think with any lifestyle change, people have a tendency to jump in too quickly. [Doing so] is more of a fad than a lifestyle change. A diet is hard and arduous, while a lifestyle change is effortless with ease. It’s important to listen to and trust what your body tells you.”
As you increase your fiber intake, make sure to up your water consumption, too. Water helps fiber move through the digestive tract and flush out toxins.
Lee suggests making one small change in your eating habits each week. For example, add in one of the high-fiber foods listed above. If you do well with that food, you can increase your consumption of it the following week and possibly incorporate another fiber-rich food, too.
Lee adds, “Choosing one strategy per week to increase your fiber can help your gut slowly get accustomed to new fiber intake and allows you to create small goals each week to transform eating fiber into a new lifestyle habit.”
