Looking to add more fibre in your diet? A diet rich in dietary fibre will keep your digestive tract clean and healthy, in addition to reducing risk of heart disease and diabetes.
Choose high fibre foods.
Fibre, an essential food component
Fibre is a significant component of your diet, as it helps move the food you eat relatively easily through the digestive tracts, helping your digestive system function efficiently.
A diet that is rich in fibre is also known to reduce the risk of health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.
Fibre content in different foods
To help you make a conscious choice to include foods that are rich in fibre, we list the fibre content of some common foods.
According to experts, women should ideally consume 21 to 25 grams of fibre a day, and men about 30 to 38 grams per day.
The table below tells you which foods contain how much fibre:
| FRUITS | QUANTITY | TOTAL FIBRE IN GRAMS |
| Apple, with skin | 1 medium | 4.4 |
| Strawberries | 1 1/4 cup | 3.8 |
| Banana | 1 medium | 3.1 |
| Orange | 1 medium | 3.1 |
| Figs, dried | 2 medium | 1.6 |
| Raisins | 2 tablespoons | 1.0 |
| GRAINS and CEREAL | QUANTITY | TOTAL FIBRE IN GRAMS |
| Chapathi | 1 medium sized | 2.0 |
| Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked | 1 cup | 4.0 |
| Popcorn, air-popped | 3 cups | 3.5 |
| Brown rice, cooked | 1 cup | 3.5 |
| Bread, whole-wheat or multigrain | 1 slice | 1.9 |
| Barley, cooked | 1 cup | 6.0 |
| VEGETABLES | QUANTITY | TOTAL FIBRE IN GRAMS |
| Peas, cooked | 1 cup | 8.8 |
| Broccoli, boiled | 1 cup | 5.1 |
| Boiled beans | 1/3 cup | 1.0 |
| Corn | 1 cup | 4.2 |
| Brussels sprouts, cooked | 1 cup | 4.1 |
| Potato, with skin | 1 medium | 2.9 |
| Capsicum | 1 | 1.8 |
| Carrot, raw | 1 medium | 1.7 |
| Carrots, boiled | 1/3 cup | 2.0 |
| Cabbage, raw | ½ cup | 1.5 |
| Cabbage, cooked | 2/3 cup | 3.0 |
| Cauliflower, cooked | 1 cup | 3.2 |
| LEGUMES, NUTS and SEEDS | QUANITY | TOTAL FIBRE IN GRAMS |
| Lentils, cooked | 1 cup | 15.6 |
| Sunflower seed kernels | 1/4 cup | 3.9 |
| Almonds | 1 ounce (23 nuts) | 3.5 |
| Pistachio nuts | 1 ounce (49 nuts) | 2.9 |
| Walnuts | 1 ounce | 2 |
Tips to increase your fibre intake
- Supplement your chapathi dough with finely ground oat meal or soy flour. This increases the fibre content in your rotis.
- Choose unpolished rice over the white rice you eat now. Unpolished rice has more nutrients and higher fibre content in comparison to polished, white rice.
- Use whole-grain breads and cereals for breakfast.
- A glass of fruit juice is void of fibre, so choose whole fruits to derive greater nutritional benefits.
- If possible, eat your veggies with skin, for example carrots, potatoes and radish have a lot of fibre in their skins.
- Eat dried fruits and nuts as snacks in between meals.
You may also like:
- Wheat – in praise of the golden grain
- Natural wonders – oats
- Everything you wanted to know about corn
- Inflammatory bowel disease
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