Chowing down on fiber-enriched foods such as yogurt, soy milk, and breakfast bars might seem like an easy way to hit your nutritional goals, but it may not help you lose weight.
A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition found that eating bars with added fiber for breakfast does not decrease hunger, food cravings, or food consumption throughout the day. Previous research from the same team found that oatmeal and fruit is more filling than a beverage with the same amount of fiber.
How Fiber Tips the Scale
By taking up space in your stomach, fiber from foods such as fruit, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts keeps you feeling full—and helps prevent you from overeating. What’s more, eating fiber-packed foods can lower your body’s absorption of calories from carbs. One U.S. Department of Agriculture study found that women who increased their daily fiber intake from 12 to 24 grams absorbed 90 fewer calories a day than those who ate the same amount of food but less fiber.
Natural Fiber vs. Added Fiber
It’s believed that our bodies perceive added fiber differently from natural fiber. And while studies have yet to explain why, we do know that whole foods require more chewing and more gut processing, and both make you feel fuller.
“It may be more visual than biological,” says senior researcher and registered dietician Joanne Slavin, Ph.D., professor of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Minnesota. It’s the whole experience of eating fiber-rich food—from seeing your packed plate to breaking it down in your belly—that make you feel full, she says.
So how can you identify foods with added fiber? Just check out the list of ingredients and look for oat bran, barley bran, cellulose, pectin, gums, soluble corn fiber, inulin, polydextrose, agave, and fruit extracts, to start. “Fiber is in all plants so the list of isolated fibers is extensive and expanding,” says Slavin. Your best option: Rely on the fiber values listed in a food item’s Nutrition Facts.
Foods With Fiber
To get your recommended daily allowance of 25 grams of fiber (most of us eek by with just 14!), make sure these fiber-rich foods are on your plate:
- Whole grains Fiber from bran (the outer layer of grains) is best at curbing hunger, Slavin says. To get your fill, start your mornings with one of the healthiest cereals (it should have at least five grams of fiber per serving), or go halfsies, mixing your usual cereal with a bran-packed variety. Swap white pasta for whole wheat and white rice for brown. Every cup of those little grains contains 3.5 grams of fiber.
- Beans and legumes If you aren’t used to mowing down on these guys, it’s best for your tummy—and the air around you—if you introduce them into your diet slowly. Try tossing chickpeas or edamame into your salad or black beans and lentils (both pack about 15 grams of fiber per cup!) into your soup. Don’t forget: beans and legumes are also protein powerhouses.
- Vegetables Serve up a fiber-packed salad. Spinach, topped with veggies like avocado, corn, and artichoke hearts, can get you more than halfway to your fiber goals. Also, make your mealtime sides veggie ones: Just one cup of split peas boasts 16.3 grams of fiber.
- Nuts While all nuts will score you some fiber, just a handful of almonds will get you 4 grams closer to your fiber goals. Put some in a baggie before work and nosh on them throughout the day.
- Fruit Start your morning with your favorite fruits and berries. One cup of raspberries will score you about a third of your daily fiber needs. Or if you’re a dessert girl with a sweet tooth, replace your treats with a piece of fruit. A medium-size pear has about 5.5 grams of fiber.
photo: iStockphoto/Thinkstock
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