Searching for fiber in my food

Image via Wikipedia

The newspaper has a story on how "roughage" and "more fiber" in our diet can extend our lives, but it's short on information about what foods have them.

The daily recommendation is 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. However, the Associated Press story, which equates "roughage" and "fiber," only mentions one food source: grains.

The National Cancer Institute study is called the largest of its kind. "It finds the overall benefit to be strongest for diets high in fiber from grains." 

Rather than rely on the Associated Press, it's probably best to read a summary of the study on the Web site of the Archives of Internal Medicine at the following link: 

Dietary fiber and mortality 

I took a look at some of the food in my cupboard and refrigerator to see which has dietary fiber.

My breakfast this morning included two foods with dietary fiber: Bob's Red Mill 100% Whole Grain Hot Cereal (10-Grain), which I prepared with dried blueberries and honey; and sun-dried tomatoes, which I paired with buffalo-milk mozzarella cheese.

Lundberg Organic Short-Grain Brown Rice also is 100% whole grain, but other brown rice has fiber, too. You can get more fiber from fully cooked, canned kidney beans or Madras-style lentils.

A half-cup of ShopRite's Organic Dark-Red Kidney Beans contains 6 grams of dietary fiber; 5 ounces of Tasty Bite Madras Lentils contain 5 grams of fiber, and one-quarter cup of organic brown rice has 3 grams of fiber.

Although I am cutting down on bread to lose weight and giving up that fiber, I make up for it by eating pasta and almonds, both of which contain dietary fiber, as do fruits and vegetables.

You can find a fact sheet on dietary fiber, including a listing of foods, at the following link:

Dietary fiber