Two things you need to know about me; one: I’m no doctor and I am lazy. I do come from a family of doctors who all give me the answer “it’ll go away in two weeks” thinking I’m just over abusing the fact that I get free medical info, so I’ve adapted the response “I’ve had it for two weeks and just came to you.” The other thing is that I’m a pretty lazy person, so naturally I have a very lazy digestive system.

If you suffer from sluggish digestion like me, or constipation, it might mean that you’re not drinking enough water, that you’re not moving around enough (exercise is a tremendous aid to digestion) or that you’re not getting enough fiber.

So over the years I’ve collected word of mouth fiber intake information; cucumbers, prunes, raisins and lettuce all topped my fiber list. I’d eat a bowl of salad and finish it off with three prunes for dessert and feel overly proud of myself: Wrong! (Imagine a buzzer sound here, please).

So I decided to do whatever I do when I want to gather information about anything; the internet (insert a mental sparkly confetti).

To begin with, I decided to see how much fiber a normal person needs to take. According to the Mayo Clinic “Women should try to eat at least 21 to 25 grams of fiber a day, while men should aim for 30 to 38 grams a day.” Problem is, I had absolutely no clue what that meant. What does a gram of fiber look like? Again, off to the internet.

I was shocked, to say the least, to find out that prunes, lettuce and cucumbers aren’t as high in fiber as I thought. In other words, I was shocked to find out how much fiber I needed to complete my daily intake of 25 grams.

So first, a breakdown of my previously mistaken for high fiber foods:

Cucumbers – 1 large: 1.5 g 

Prunes – 1 lousy prune: 0.7 g 

Lettuce – 1 cup shredded: 0.5 g (seriously?) 

Raisins – 1 cup: 6g (Okay that is actually high in fiber but who eats a whole cup of raisins?)

Although these may not take you up to your daily fiber needs, each does have merit in fighting constipation.

Cucumbers and lettuce are high in water content which should accompany fiber intake to keep  your stools soft and easily excreted.

Prunes and raisins are also natural laxatives because they contain sorbitol and dihydrophenylisatin.

Even though these might work for your digestion, a daily proper intake of fiber is still essential to lower blood sugar, prevent colon cancer, lower cholesterol levels and fight hemorrhoids.

 

So here are 25 high fiber foods with suggested meals to get even the most sluggish stomachs moving.

Legumes:

Lentils – 1 cup cooked: 15.6 g

Beans (white, kidney or black) –  1 cup cooked: 15 g (on average)

Chickpeas – 1 cup cooked: 13 g

Fava Beans (good old foul) – a cup cooked: 11 g

 

 

Fruits:

Sunflower seeds – 1 cup: 14 g

Avocado – 1 medium: 10 g

Pear with skin: – 1 medium: 5.5 g

Apple with skin – 1 medium: 4.4 g

Banana – 1 medium: 3 g

Orange – 1 medium: 3 g

Strawberries – 1 cup: 3 g

 

Veggies:

Artichoke – 1 medium cooked: 10.3 g

Green peas – 1 cup cooked: 8.8 g

Raspberries – 1 cup: 8 g

Broccoli – 1 cup boiled: 5.1 g

Green peppers – 1 cup chopped: 2.5 g 

Tomato – 1 medium: 1.2 g

 

Grains:

Whole-wheat pasta (which tastes just as good but is a little bit more expensive) – 1 cup cooked: 6.3 g

Bran flakes  – ¾ cup: 5.3 g

Kellog’s All Bran – 40 grams: 11 g

Oatmeal – 1 cup: 4 g

Brown rice (tastes like ferik)– 1 cup cooked: 3.5 g

Brown toast – 1 slice: 2 g

Wheatgerm – 1 tablespoon: 1.3 g

 

Others:

Almonds – 23 nuts: 3.5 g

Air popped pop corn – 3 cups: 3.5 g

 

Suggested high fiber meals:

Breakfast:

Option 1: Medium bowl of all bran flakes or oatmeal

Option 2: Small bowl of yogurt and muesli (opt for one that is as plain as possible to avoid the sugar and add your own raisins)

Option 3: 1 slice brown toast, with 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter with ½ banana sliced

Option 4: Omelet with chopped veggies (bell peppers, broccoli, green herbs like parsley, dill weed etc)

 

Lunch:

Option 1: Grilled chicken with a side of beans

Option 2: Grilled fillet with a side of sautéed veggies

Option 3: Big bowl of brown rice vegetable paella

Option 4: Whole-wheat pasta with fresh tomato and basil sauce

 

Dinner:

Option 1: Big leafy salad (lettuce, arugula, tomatoes, peppers; be as creative as you can) with 4-5 chopped almonds and 2-3 tablespoons of wheat germ

Option 2: Steamed artichoke hearts with lemon vinaigrette dressing

Option 3: Brown toast tuna sandwich with veggies (chopped bell peppers, celery, sweet corn etc)

Option 4: Bowl of fruit salad

Snacks:

Sunflower seeds

Popcorn

Almonds

 

Some general tips:

– Check the nutrition label on packaged food paying special attention to the serving size (these tables are sometimes misleading)

– Google “amount of fiber in (insert food type)”

– Keep track of what you’re eating with amounts

– Download My Fitnesspal to your phone. It keeps track of your calorie intake, and you can scan the barcode of almost any packaged food product, and get the full nutritional value including fiber.

– Replace any ‘white’ foods (white bread, pasta, rice) with ‘brown’ foods (brown bread, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice)

– Keep the skin on fruits and veggies

– Munch on cucumber or carrot sticks throughout the day

 

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