A primer on fiber

May 31, 2021

Nutrition specialists often emphasize that fibers are particularly useful for the human body, and everyone should include these nutrients in their daily diet. Also, these days, the description of “additional fiber source” is very popular in the supply of healthy food products and various supplements. Although such descriptions can tempt, however, do we really know what is hiding after the concept of famous fibers?

Medical experts define dietary fibers as non-digestible carbs, or in other words – digestive ferments are not able to decompose fiber, thus these kinds of carbs are processed in the microflora of the large intestine.

Soluble and insoluble fiber

Fiber is usually divided into soluble and insoluble. The latter dietary fiber is usually praised because it improves the peristaltic, so helps to prevent constipation, and contributes to faster food travel through the digestive system. Meanwhile, soluble dietary fibers also perform the cleaning function, only in other ways: it cleans blood, reduces the amount of glucose in it, and contributes to cholesterol reduction.

Fiber consumption

Although fiber appears very necessary for our bodies, frequent humans consume very little of it. For example, only about 5% of Americans eat enough food rich in fiber.

Based on the advice of nutritional specialists, the most optimal amount of nutritional fiber consumption in 2000 kcal per day is 38 g for men, and 25 g for women (pregnancy or lactation period, at least 28 g).

Products rich in fiber:

Soluble fiber	oats, peas, beans, vegetables (eggplant, beets), fruits (plums, bananas, peaches), citrus fruits
Insoluble fiber	whole wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, seeds, lentils, beans, vegetables (broccoli, carrots, cauliflower), fruits (apples, kiwi, pears)

How to be sure I consume enough fiber

We now seem to know the exact proportions and products to achieve the required amount of dietary fiber per day. However, to really be sure, we can look at the real quantities of products with the most fiber. We calculated what percentage of the 25 g daily rate such amounts make up.

15 g of fiber – a cup of beans, lentils or peas	60 %
10 g of fiber – 28 g chia seeds	40 %
about 5 g of fiber – a cup of broccoli, brussels sprouts, whole grain pasta, quinoa, oats; eaten one medium-sized apple with peel or pear	20 %
8 g of fiber – a cup of raspberries	32 %
about 3 g of fiber – a cup of other berries	12 %
1,4 g of fiber – 1 portion of blend for Immune System	6,6 %
1,4 g of fiber – 1 portion of blend for Gut Bliss	6,6 %
2,2 g of fiber – 1 portion of blend for Energy	9,8 %
1,28 g of fiber – 1 portion of blend for Skin Glow	6,12 %

Here are some additional tips to help you increase your fiber intake:

fruits and vegetables are more beneficial to eat with peel because they have the highest fiber content
replace white bread and wheat pasta with whole grain products
add beans and lentils to salads, soups, as a side dish
important to eat 4.5 cups of vegetables and 4.5 cups of fruit each day
consume additional products containing fiber, such as Daily Spoon blends.

Sources:

Anderson JW, Baird P, Davis RH Jr, Ferreri S, Knudtson M, Koraym A, Waters V, Williams CL. “Health benefits of dietary fiber”, 2009.

Harvard School of Public Health, ,,Fiber”

University of Michigan School of Public Health, “4 Ways Fiber Benefits Your Health”, 2017.

Medical News Today, “Why do we need dietary fiber?”, 2020.

Mayo Clinic, “Chart of high-fiber foods”.

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A primer on fiber

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