We need fiber in our diet for many reasons. Fiber may help moderate blood glucose levels and lipid levels, assist in keeping the colon healthy, and regulate immune responses. It does this in part by slowing and easing the passage of food through the digestive system. Fiber can also help you with weight loss.

Dietary fiber gives you a way to eat a greater volume of food without a lot of calories, when you make the right choices. Eating a larger volume of food can provide you with a sense of fullness and satisfaction. Whole foods high in dietary fiber also provide you with needed vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

So how do you go about finding high fiber foods quickly and easily?

1. Look for whole grains. Check ingredient labels on bread, cereals, and other products. For a product to be a true whole grain food, the whole grain must be listed first. Wheat flour listed first is not a whole grain whereas “whole wheat flour” is.

2. Think brown instead of white. Brown is definitely the way to go if you are also checking the ingredient label. Brown rice is better than white. Whole wheat brown bread is better than white if the bread is actually a whole grain product. Just because a bread is brown does not mean it is necessarily whole grain. Read the label! Also look for whole grain pastas and whole grain crackers.

3. Choose whole foods. A whole piece of fruit provides significantly more fiber than the same fruit consumed as juice.

4. Eat the skin whenever possible. Eating the skin of fruits and vegetables such as apples, pears, peaches, potatoes, and cucumbers increases both the fiber count and nutrients.

5. Pick nutrient and fiber-rich peas and beans for side dishes with your meals. Add peas and beans to soups, salads, stir-fries, and casserole dishes. Edamame beans are a great choice for snacks.

6. Add a small amount of nuts to salads and vegetable dishes. Nuts may be high in calories but they are packed with good-for-you nutrients and fiber. A small handful of nuts may have 200 calories or so but they can fill you up and leave you feeling very satisfied.

I eat nuts to keep me satisfied on low calorie diets and because they seem to help lower my cholesterol levels. (Note: Nuts are hard to fit into a 1200 calorie diet. Keep to just a few.)

7. Choose high fiber cereals. Look for breakfast cereals with at least 4 grams of fiber per serving. See if you can find choices that don’t go overboard with sugar (12 grams total sugar or less)

8. Eat berries! Choose raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries for snacks and cereal toppings. Some berries have more than twice the fiber of most other fruits.

9. Pass on the chips. Opt instead for low-fat popcorn, whole grain crackers, or chips made from whole grain pita bread or tortillas.

10. Remember to drink lots of water. Enough water is essential for good health. And it is especially important when you increase your fiber intake. So drink up. Most adults need from six to eight glasses a day.

If you’d like to read more about the health benefits of dietary fiber and how it can help you with weight loss you may want to read two articles I posted earlier. Dietary Fiber can it Help You with Weight Loss? and High Fiber Diet for Weight Loss