High Fiber Diet Menu

The high fiber diet foods are items which contain an indigestible substance (called fiber) that is mainly helpful in maintaining the colon health. The fibers present in foods can be classified as soluble and insoluble ones. Foods containing soluble fibers, during the process of digestion are converted into a gel-like substance. The foods with insoluble fibers on the other hand are not converted into any other form and remain unaltered. The high fiber diet menu with soluble and insoluble fibers are discussed in the following paragraphs.

Menu for High Fiber Diet

The high fiber foods presented below are categorized into the groups, soluble fibers and insoluble fibers.

Soluble Fibers
The soluble fibers are contained in different types of foods like legumes, fruits, vegetables, cereals, etc. Amongst the legumes, different kinds of beans and peas contain plenty of soluble fibers. Fruits like bananas, apples, pears, berries and plums are few good sources of fiber. High content of these fibers are also present in root vegetables like onions and potatoes (including sweet potatoes). The cereals in which soluble fibers are present include oats, rye, chia, barley, etc. The high fiber foods for toddlers should mostly include nuts, whole grains and fruits.

Insoluble Fibers
Main components of insoluble fibers are the compounds like cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Food items like wheat bran and oat bran are also few of the fiber rich foods. Different forms of beans like the red bean, kidney bean and navy beans also have high content of fibers. Spinach is also one of the important foods high in fiber; the other ones being chard, kale, bok choy, etc. Including rye bread in the diet which is amongst the cereals high in fiber provides sufficient amounts of insoluble fibers.

High Fiber Diet Plan
Preparing salads with the help of fibrous menu mentioned above, helps in the intake of both soluble and insoluble fibers in a balanced manner. Intake of at least one fruit and high fiber vegetable item everyday should serve the purpose. To maintain the right proportion of soluble and insoluble fibers in our daily diet, foods containing these elements can be consumed on alternate days. The bottom-line is making use of high fiber diet menu helps in keeping many health problems at bay. One would also find meal plans for a high protein diet to be useful along with the information presented above.

High Fiber Diet Benefits
The most important benefit of using high fiber foods in our diet is that colon is cleaned. The fibers present in food act as a broom which cleans up debris present in the intestine. It helps in overcoming problems like constipation. Let us have a look at few other benefits of including a high fiber diet menu in our regular routine.

• The viscosity of soluble fibers causes their movement through intestines at a slow pace. Benefit of this slow movement is that sugar is absorbed slowly. Regulation of blood sugar levels and insulin thus, takes place in a better manner. This property of soluble fibers can therefore, help in controlling health problems like diabetes.
• Foods with high fiber content help in efforts directed at weight loss. This is because fibrous foods act as fillers and therefore satiate the hunger quickly. It also takes more time to chew fibrous items in comparison to other foods; the time taken for chewing helps in satisfying the hunger quickly. One should therefore, consider high fiber foods for weight loss.
• Fatty acids present in the intestines are absorbed by soluble fibers. Absorption of fatty acids leads to the reduction of cholesterol levels in blood.
• Consumption of fibrous foods can be considered as a preventive measure against diseases like colon cancer.

The high fiber diet menu enlisted in this article gives an idea as to which foods need to be included in our regular diet. The list of fibrous diet benefits provided in the end helps in understanding their importance from the point of maintaining health in a sound state.