Dietary fiber sources are very variable and present in our daily diet, which makes it easy to find them and consume enough. The most famous source is legumes but also veggies and fruits!
What’s dietary fiber?
- Fibers are nutrients that are not digested by the enzymes of the digestive tract
- They promote intestinal transit
- They serve as food for the bacteria in the colon: the microbiota
- The microbiota is an organ that impacts our health
- Some fibers are soluble, others insoluble
Why consume it every day?
- They have a regulating effect on the transit (the term “regulating” means that they reduce the slowing down of the transit “constipation”, and control its acceleration “diarrhea”.
- By reducing the speed of digestion, they also optimize the feeling of fullness and help to better control the appetite ( so it helps in weight loss) , look how it helps in weight loss here: How dietary fiber helps in weight loss?
- Fibers participate in the prevention of many diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes, certain cancers and even the risk of infections and inflammatory pathologies, by modulating the activity of the immune system.
- Improve mental health.
The best sources of dietary fiber!
Dietary fiber is present in many foods.
Fruits and vegetables
- 1- Cooked artichoke
- 2- Raspberry
- 3- Grapes
- 4- Parsley
- 5-Raw celery
- 6- Sunchoke
- 7- Brussels sprouts
- 8- Tomato
- 9- Apple, Persimmon, Strawberries, Avocado, Blackberries
- 10- Raw sweet potato
- 11- Cooked green cabbage, cooked broccoli, cooked leek, raw carrot, cauliflower, button mushroom, endive and lettuce, cooked turnip, cooked eggplant, bell bell pepper, cooked spinach, raw fennel, cooked parsnip.
Oleaginous fruits
- Almonds
- Hazelnuts
- The nuts
Dry fruits
- Dried prunes
- Dried figs
- Dried grapes
- Dried beans.
Legumes
- Cooked beans
- Cooked kidney beans, cooked chickpeas, cooked peas, cooked white beans, sweet corn.
How To Eat Enough?
There is nothing special about eating enough dietary fiber other. There are certain foods that should be favored, and others that should be replaced! It is certainly the foods that are very rich in dietary fiber that should be favored, and floury foods should be replaced with wholemeal pasta and whole grain bread.
Now, How To Choose Foods Rich In Dietary Fiber?
This doesn’t mean that you should avoid pasta! not at all. For example, you can prepare noodles in a sauce with several types of green vegetables. Here is a recipe that explains how to favour dietary fibre and vary your plate at the same time.
It is a recipe for Chinese noodles with sauce but at the same time it’s rich in dietary fiber.
- 1 onion
- Garlic
Cut them into very small pieces and put them in a pan with 1 tablespoon of soybean oil and a pinch of salt.
Then add :
- 1 Turnip
- 1 to 2 Carrots
- 2 tablespoons of beans
- 1/4 cup of lentils
- Green beans.
- Broccoli
Cut the turnip and the carrots into small pieces and add them to the same pot.
Then add the green beans, lentils and beans to the pot. Wait 5 minutes and add a cup of water.
When the vegetables are a bit cooked, and the water starts to run out, add a grated tomato and some red bell pepper. To avoid the loss of the important nutrients in these vegetables, turn on the heat moderately.
Keep an eye on the pot, if the water runs out, add boiled water (2L of water).
At the same time you watch the pot. Prepare the noodles + broccoli in boiled water, once the noodles are cooked, you put them in the pot which is full of vegetables and food fiber. At the end you add celery and cooked broccoli on the noodles with sauce and enjoy!
This is a very healthy recipe from my grandmother. My mom and I still make it to this day, and I recommend it too!
What else?
- Replace white pasta with whole grain pasta
- Replace white bread with wholemeal bread
- The vegetables in your plate must be superior to the starchy ones.
- Eat 4 to 6 fruits and vegetables a day.
- Always start your meal with an appetizer which should be either a vegetable soup or a green salad.
- If you are at work, order a vegetable dish or a healthy sandwich made with wholemeal flour.
- A sufficient intake of fiber must also be associated with a sufficient intake of water!
- Eat legumes once a week (lentils, beans, etc.) and add them to your dishes (just like the recipe above).
- Read the labels to identify and compare the content of products in the store to find out their amount of dietary fiber.
It’s a wrap!
Fiber is an unusual food component. It is not digested in our stomach and small intestine, which may suggest that it is of relatively little use. Their fate lies further down in the colon, where they not only help regulate transit, but also have very important effects on health.
In the end, what I can tell you is that it’s not difficult at all to vary your plate and to consume enough dietary fiber.
The first step to know which foods are richer in dietary fiber and to give them more in our daily life. And don’t forget the easiest source of dietary fiber which is vegetables and fruits, because you can eat 3 fruits even if you are at the office, or outside!
However, if you are at home, enjoy preparing a dish rich in dietary fiber! Eat a balanced diet with a little bit of everything and in sufficient quantity and practice physical activity!
