What is Fiber?
Fiber is the indigestible part of food which is essential to keep our gut healthy and other parameters under control. Depending on whether fiber is water soluble or not, fiber is termed as soluble or insoluble. Almost all plant foods like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and spices contain fiber in varying quantities. Foods like oats, pulses, citrus fruits, apples, methi seeds, prunes, etc are rich in soluble fiber. Most fruits and vegetables contain insoluble fiber. Skins of vegetables like tomato, potato, and fruits like apples, are good sources of fiber. Animal foods like dairy products, egg, fish, chicken, and other meats do not contain dietary fiber.
Fiber helps in:
- Manage weight
- Control blood sugar
- control blood pressure
- Keep cholesterol and triglycerides in check.
- Eat whole fruits instead of drinking fruit juice
- Use whole grains like whole wheat flour, unpolished rice, corn, ragi, jowar, etc
- Snak on raw vegetables
- Include whole pulses like Channa, moong and so on to increase fiber in your diet.
- Breakfast- Oats porridge with milk and fruit. Other high fibre options would be wheat flakes with milk or ragi porridge with butter milk.
- Lunch- Vegetable salad with pulkas, rajma, cooked vegetables and curd. Rajma can be substituted with any other pulses like channa or whole moong.
- Dinner- Spinach and corn bake with sprouts salad and fruit. Ragi dosa with vegetable sambar would be an alternative to the bake.
