Fiber is an important nutrient but sadly, many people don’t understand it or its importance. In easy to understand terms, fiber is a form of carbohydrate that cannot be digested by humans.

Fibers are classified into two classes, soluble and insoluble fiber. Insoluble fiber plays the role of bulking agent. Soluble fiber is more interesting to us and has incredible effects on our health and metabolism.

The Importance of Fiber

If you want to lose weight, then you should eat foods containing fiber. It is a magical weight loss nutrient that most people don’t get enough of.  Women should eat 25-30 grams of fiber per day. That equals to 12 cups of broccoli, 7 apples or 7 and a half oatmeal cups.

You should get the fiber from whole foods not from supplements as this will help you stay fuller for longer. This helps your digestive system to run slowly and smoothly meaning that you won’t experience constipation or bloating.

How to incorporate this important nutrient into your diet?

You can get fiber from whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The best strategy to get more fiber into your diet is to spread it across your snacks and meals throughout the day.  Every meal that you have should include at least eight (8) grams of fiber.

You can also eat an avocado or a pear, each of these fruits has 6 grams of fiber. To up your fiber intake, include oatmeal (4 g per cup) quinoa (5 g per cup) and barley (8 g per ¼ cup) into your menu.