John Myers
Contrary to what the name suggests, fiber is by no means superfluous or even causes obesity. On the contrary: fiber keeps you healthy and also makes you slim. These foods contain a particularly large amount of the coveted fiber.
- Foods such as psyllium, chia seeds, flaxseed, and wheat bran have the highest proportion of dietary fiber in relation to the total weight.
- If you instead compare how much fiber the usual portion of food provides, legumes are also very far ahead. This is followed by peppers and corn, wholemeal bread and pumpernickel, fresh berries, dried fruits, and nuts.
- Animal products contain no (or hardly any) fiber.
Dietary fibers are mainly found in cereals such as rye, fruit, vegetables, legumes, and nuts. Although largely indigestible, they are proven to be healthy and help prevent various diseases. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) therefore recommends consuming at least 30 grams of fiber per day, other recommendations assume at least 25 grams of fiber.
However, it is not at all easy to consume a sufficient amount of healthy fiber: 75 percent of women and 86 percent of men remained below this value, as the National Consumption Study II (Link) showed. There is a need to catch up here, after all, doctors and nutritionists have repeatedly found that many positive effects are linked to the intake of dietary fiber.
High-fiber foods are healthy
Eating 25 to 29 grams of fiber per day can reduce the risk of dying from type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart attack or colon cancer by 15 to 30 percent. This was the result of the analysis of 185 observational and 58 clinical studies by the journal “The Lancet”. She also found that the more fiber a person eats, the lower the risk of dying from one of these diseases.
Another piece of good news: High-fiber foods also make you slim. “People who eat a diet very high in fiber tend to lose weight rather than gain weight,” explained the immunobiologist Erica Sonnenburg in ÖKO-TEST Magazine March 2020. This is partly due to the saturation effect of whole grain, which swells in the intestine and thus gives the body a feeling of satiety conveyed.
High-fiber diet thanks to whole grains
The easiest way to increase your fiber intake is to replace light grains like wheat with whole grain products as often as possible. For example, whole grain bread contains more than twice as much fiber as “normal” toast bread. The same applies to whole grain pasta, biscuits, flour or rice, all of which contain significantly more fiber than their “white” counterparts.
When it comes to bread, pasta, or rice, it is better to use whole grains – this is also the DGE’s explicit recommendation to eat more foods rich in fiber. An appropriate diet can be supplemented with three servings of high-fiber vegetables – artichokes, legumes, potatoes, carrots, or cabbage – and two servings of (dried) fruit a day. A serving is about a handful.
Meal plan suggestion for enough dietary fiber
So what could be on the menu to meet the recommended 30 gram fiber intake? The DGE calculates that, for example, the following ingredients should be included in the daily menu in order to ensure an appropriate supply:
- 3 slices of wholemeal bread
- 1 serving of fruit muesli
- 2 to 3 medium potatoes
- 2 medium carrots
- 2 kohlrabi
- 1 apple
- 1 serving of red fruit jelly
These foods have the most fiber
Fortunately, if you might not want to eat two cabbage bulbs every day, there are plenty of other high-fiber foods that can help meet recommended needs.
There are several foods that provide a lot of fiber at once, but are not necessarily suitable for being eaten in large quantities. According to the NDR (October 2021), the following foods, for example, contain the most dietary fiber (calculated per 100 grams of the food):
- 84g – Psyllium Husks
- 45 g – wheat bran
- 40 g – Chia seeds
- 35g – Flaxseed
- 19 g – oat bran flakes
- 18 g – black salsify (fresh)
- 15 g – desiccated coconut
- 15 g – oat bran
- 13 g – pear (dried)
With the exception of the salsify, most of them are most likely to be added to muesli, porridge, or (breakfast) porridge. The seeds can also simply be sprinkled in the salad.
High fiber foods per serving
Since you will hardly eat your food in 100 gram units, but in the usual portion sizes, it is worth breaking down the particularly high-fiber foods a little differently. At the same time, you get a better impression of which common foods provide a particularly large amount of fiber.
Various seeds (in addition to black salsify and Jerusalem artichoke) are also excellent sources of dietary fiber, assuming the usual portion sizes. But it also shows that legumes in particular are unusually high in fiber: beans and chickpeas, which you can find in any supermarket, still provide over 15 grams of fiber per portion (200 grams), green peas and lentils still at least eight grams per portion Portion.
Which does not contain fiber
Conversely, if you value high-fiber foods, you should avoid foods that contain little or no fiber. These are, for example, animal products such as eggs, meat, and fish, milk, and dairy products. Even vegetables that contain a lot of water, such as cucumbers or tomatoes, are not particularly high in fiber.
Tips for a high-fiber diet
Actually, it is not difficult at all to find high-fiber foods – the rules are very similar to those that apply to a healthy diet. Many types of fruit and vegetables not only provide fiber but are generally healthy, for example, due to the vitamins they contain.
However, if you want to eat healthily, you should stay away from red meat and sausage, which do not contain any fiber. Also, sweets or chips usually contain little or no fiber – in contrast to nuts and dried fruit.
Tip: Since high-fiber foods such as legumes and grains swell up in the digestive tract, you should drink enough with every meal. You can also simply soak cereal flakes before eating.
And: If you have not eaten particularly high in fiber up to now, do not change your diet from one day to the next. Your gut should have time to get used to the (more) high-fiber diet.
