10 Best Ways to Get Fiber in your Diet

 Dietary fiber is something that we need to have in our diets especially as we get older. That’s because fiber does a lot of really important things for the body and can help to prevent certain diseases that may impact us as we age. The main reason that people are concerned about getting enough fiber is because this roughage helps to push everything else through the body so that you avoid the build-up of food and problems with constipation. However, adding fiber to your diet can also help you to reduce the likelihood that you’ll develop some serious health problems such as diabetes and heart problems.

Most people aren’t really sure how to add dietary fiber to their diet other than just starting to eat a high-fiber cereal. That’s a really great start to adding fiber to your diet because it’s simple to do. You can easily see on a box of cereal if it’s marketed as high in fiber and you can easily make eating that cereal a part of your daily routine. (Add fruit to it if you’re concerned about the bland taste). However, there are also a lot of other simple ways to start adding more fiber to your diet without having to significantly change the way that you eat.

Here are the ten best easy ways to start incorporating more fiber into your diet so that you can be healthier overall:

1. Love that orange pulp. Orange pulp is a really great source of dietary fiber and yet one that most people aren’t aware of. When you buy orange juice (or make it at home) don’t get the kind with the pulp strained out. Instead, make sure that you’re getting as much pulp as possible in your orange juice. Or better yet, just eat the oranges whole since you’ll get all of that wonderful goodness from the orange without missing out on anything.

2. Leave the skin on. Almost all of the foods that you eat that have a skin or a peel will probably have more fiber if you’re eating that skin than if you’re peeling it off. This means that you should quit peeling your potatoes and cucumbers before you eat them and just start learning to eat that skin. Of course, some foods just don’t taste right when you eat the peel (lemons come to mind) but think twice before whipping out that peeler.

3. Eat your seeds. The skin or peel of fruits and vegetables are not the only parts that have a lot of fiber; the seeds are also often a great fiber resource. There are many fruits that have seeds which we can eat but we don’t because we got out of the habit of doing so generations ago. Apples are a terrific example. Yes, you can eat the seeds of apples and you’ll have an easy way to add more fiber to your diet.

4. Stop eating white bread. There are tons of good reasons to quit eating white bread and to start eating whole grain bread. One of those reasons is that whole grain breads are rich in fiber. Start using these breads for toast and sandwiches and everything else and you’ll find yourself feeling better because of the fiber you add to your diet.

5. Listen for the crunch. A lot of crunchy foods are great for fiber intake particularly if they’re the kind of foods that you would use to make a crunchy salad. In other words, you want to eat carrots and celery and broccoli and you want to eat them raw so that you get all of the fiber benefits that they can offer.

6. Add cereal in more places. As mentioned before, high-fiber cereals are a great way to get fiber in your diet but you don’t have to just have a bowl with milk every day to get that fiber. Add high-fiber cereal to trail mix, ice cream desserts and other foods that you’re eating to give the food some crunchy and texture and to get more fiber into your diet at the same time.

7. Eat your almonds. Nuts of many kinds are a great source of fiber but almonds are the best choice. Whenever you have a reason to buy nuts for a snack o r recipe, consider whether almonds would go well with what you’re making.

8. Slowly incorporate more fiber-rich foods into your diet. Ultimately, the best thing that you can do to add fiber to your diet is to start adding in fiber-rich foods that you don’t already eat. Legumes are the foods richest in fiber so start getting the right kind of beans and making them a side dish to all of your meals. Other fiber-rich foods include Asian pears, prunes, raspberries, blackberries, broccoli and root vegetables like potatoes.

9. Reduce your intake of meat and replace it with an intake of vegetables. S you are adding this fiber-rich foods to your diet, try to see if you can use some of them to replace the meat that you eat. There really isn’t much fiber in meat at all so you should try to start eliminating some of those meat-rich meals and replacing them with foods that are filling but also filled with fiber.

10. Fiber supplements. If you can’t bring yourself to get enough fiber into your diet in these simple ways then you may decide that the best way to get your fiber is through adding supplements to your diet. If that’s what works for you, find the ones that you like best. There are shakes and power bars and pills that you can take to get the fiber that you need. However, these typically aren’t considered the ideal method of adding fiber to your diet so try the other easy tips first.

Be aware that it’s really important to add fiber to your diet but you also shouldn’t overdo it. Too much fiber can be unhealthy for you so just shoot for a balanced diet with a moderate range of different foods including fiber. As you add fiber, make sure that you do so slowly instead of drastically to avoid stomach cramping and other health issues.