10 ways to get more fiber

Here's the gist of how fiber works…

• fiber is a type of complex carbohydrate that is not completely digested.

• because it is a complex carb it takes longer to breakdown and slows the digestion of carbs in your meal (like a banana, rice, cookie, etc.). That slower digestion leads to a slower rise and fall in blood sugar (aka less of the energy crash, lightheadedness, shakiness, hanger….ya know)

• because it is not fully digested and absorbed it stays in the gut where it interacts with your microbiome, the community of bacteria, fungi, and yeast

• fiber can also regulate transit time, benefitting both diarrhea and constipation

• there are 2 types of fiber, soluble that mixes with water, and insoluble that does not, that have similar, but different benefits

This leads to various benefits including: 

• better BMs

• more diverse microbiome

• more stable blood sugar

• reduced risk of diverticulosis, diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer,  breast cancer

10 ways to boost your fiber intake

1. Add half or a full avocado to your meal

2. eat your yogurt with 1 cup of berries

3. swap regular pasta for whole wheat or lentil pasta

4. make this blood sugar friendly black bean breakfast 

5. eat 1-2 kiwis per day

6. make overnight oats for breakfast with chia seeds, flax seed, berries, and slivered almonds

7. snack on hummus

8. make a easy AF bean salad or cowboy caviar (protip: eat it with your eggs for breakfast, so good)

9. add a few tbsp of chia seeds, flax seeds, hemp and/or pumpkin seeds to your diet. put them in smoothies, on salads, oats, yogurt, make your own protein balls, etc.

10. make a big pot of lentil soup (freeze extras in individual servings for convenience

Here's a list of more high fiber foods for inspiration

It's recommended that women consume 25g of fiber per day and men consume 37g daily. Most Americans are no where near that. Actually the NIH says only 5 freaking % of people get enough fiber. YEESH.

ALSO do not bump your fiber intake up too quickly, it may cause digestive upset. Make sure to drink water with your high fiber foods. 

 And last thing is that not everyone can tolerate huge amounts of fiber. If you have gut infections, parasites, dysbiosis, and gut inflammation, it could prevent you from hitting your fiber goals.

This was the case for a client, Lisa, who WANTED to eat healthy but fruits and veggies destroyed her stomach and caused major bloating. 

Her poop test found that she had a parasite 😬

But within 8 weeks of working through her anti-parastic protocol she was back to eating her usual fruits and veggies. She slowly got used to her “norm” being feeling good! 

If you're in the same boat, feeling like no matter how good you eat, you still feel sick, I'm here to help. Learn more about getting a poop test and a plan now!