The powerful and noticeable effects of eating fiber that will keep you well and make you feel great:
- Feeds healthy gut flora.
- Insoluble fiber stays intact through the digestive tract and helps everything move through smoothly, comfortably and regularly.
- Ensures waste, toxins and excess hormones leave the body, don’t cause irritation, inflammation in the gut wall or get reabsorbed.
- Soluble fiber dissolves in water and forms a shield to prevent rapid uptake of sugars, and it is involved in maintaining healthy cholesterol levels.
- Weight management – fiber is filling and stops you snacking on refined, ‘empty calorie’ foods.
- Keeps energy levels steady – by protecting you from a roller-coaster of blood sugar highs and lows, your mood and energy will feel more balanced and you’ll have fewer cravings for sweet foods
- Constipation and diarrhea are both helped with appropriate fiber rich foods (see below)
- A reduction in the risk of inflammation in the bowel and other complications including diverticulitis, hemorrhoids, gallstones, kidney stones, heart disease and stroke.
The Amazing Hidden Benefits Of Eating Fiber:
A healthy body is full of bacteria! By feeding the good bacteria in your digestive system, fiber helps you stay well in so many ways:
- Resist illness: A healthy layer of good gut flora forms a protective layer through the lining of the gut that’s your defence against illness-causing bacteria, viruses and yeasts.
- Energy, growth and healing: Gut bacteria produce B vitamins (that make energy and help to form new cells) and Vitamin K (for blood clotting, wound healing and healthy bones).
- Absorb more nutrients: Gut flora breaks down food further to release all the nutrients for absorption through the gut wall and into the bloodstream.
- Happy digestion: Without healthy gut flora to break it down efficiently, food can sit too long in the tummy, fermenting, causing bloating, pain and contributing to more serious digestive issues including inflammation and leaky gut.
- Healthy skin: A healthy gut wall means much less inflammation, stress hormones and toxins in the blood stream – which all contribute to skin problems.
- Mood and ability to deal with stress: A healthy tummy helps to ensure you have plenty of happy neurotransmitters, and lower levels of stress hormones.
I’m promoting that you get a minimum of 35-40 grams per day!
My FAVORITE FIBER FOODS:
Oats, cooked 1 cup = 4 grams
Brown Rice 1 cup = 3.5 grams
Quinoa 1 cup = 5.6 grams
Fruit:
Avocado 1/2 cup = 9.0 grams
Raspberries 1 cup = 8.4 grams
Pear 1 medium = 4.0 grams
Blueberries 1 cup = 4.0 grams
Apple w/ skin 1 medium = 3.7 grams
Strawberries 1 cup = 3.4 grams
Banana 1 = 3 grams
Beans/Legumes:
White Beans 1/2 cup = 9.5 grams
Adzuki Bean 1/2 cup = 8.5 grams
Pinto Beans 1/2 cup = 7.35 grams
Lentils 1/2 cup = 7.9 grams
Garbanzo 1/2 cup = 7.6 grams
Black Beans 1/2 cup = 7.6 grams
Lima Beans 1/2 cup = 6.6 grams
Vegetables:
Acorn Squash 1 cup = 9.0 grams
Canned Pumpkin 1 cup = 7.0 grams
Butternut Squash 1 cup = 7.0 grams
Artichoke 1 medium = 6.2 grams
Raw Jicama 1 cup = 6.0 grams
Brussel Sprouts 1 cup = 6.0 grams
Potato w/skin 1 medium = 5.0 grams
Broccoli 1 cup = 5.0 grams
Cauliflower 1 cup = 5.0 grams
Spinach, cooked 1 cup = 4.4 grams
Red Cabbage 1 cup = 4.0 grams
Green Peas 1/2 cup = 4.0 grams
Carrots 2 medium = 4.0 grams
Green Beans 1 cup = 4.0 grams
Sweet Potato 1 medium = 3.0 grams
Kale 1 cup = 3.0 grams
Seeds/Nuts:
Basil Seeds 1 tablespoon = 7 grams
Chia Seeds 1 tablespoon = 5 grams
Ground Flax 2 tablespoons = 3 grams
Squash Seeds 1 oz. = 5 grams
Pumpkin Seeds 1 oz. = 5 grams
Sesame Seeds 1 oz. = 4 grams
Almonds 1 oz. = 4 grams
Pine Nuts 1 oz. = 3 grams
Pistachios 1 oz. = 3 grams
Hazelnuts 1 oz. = 3 grams
Pecans 1 oz. = 3 grams