A high fiber food chart helps you know the foods high in dietary fiber. Adding more foods high in dietary fiber from the high fiber food chart can help you obtain the recommended 25-30 grams of fiber each day. Sufficient daily fiber intake is important, not just because of helping the bowels function, but to provide nutrients to friendly bacteria in the digestive tracts.

Low-fiber diets have been connected to numerous diseases and conditions -- colon cancer, constipation, Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, heart disease, high blood pressure, hemorrhoids and varicose veins are examples. Correcting low fiber intake for your diet can help you achieve regular bowel movements necessary for optimum health.

Here are top foods high in dietary fiber along with the approximate number of grams of fiber they contain. Fiber contents shown below on the high fiber food chart are for a food quantity of 1/2 cup unless otherwise noted:

Bananas, 3 grams - medium 8" long

Beans, 6-10 grams - baked beans, black beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, white beans

Berries, 4-5 grams - blackberries, raspberries

Bran Cereals, 5-10 grams - All-Bran, Bran Buds, 100% Bran, Raisin Bran

Bread, 4-7 grams - 2 slices whole wheat, pumpernickel, seven-grain

Broccoli, 4-5 grams

Brussels Sprouts, 2 grams

Carrots, 3-4 grams

Dried Figs, 10 grams - 3 figs

Fruit, 4 grams - medium apple, medium pear

Green Beans, 2 grams - broad beans, pole beans, snap beans

Greens, 4-6 grams - beet greens, collards, kale, spinach, turnip greens

Lentils, 6 grams

Lima Beans - 4-6 grams

Peas, 7-9 grams - black-eyed peas, green peas

Potatoes, 4-5 grams - medium baked Idaho or sweet potato

Sweet Corn, 5 grams

When making changes to your diet to include more foods from the high fiber food chart, just add a few grams at a time so your intestinal tract can adjust. And important for bowel health is that adequate liquid be present for good bowel function. Each fiber particle absorbs liquid in the colon which helps facilitate regular movement along in the bowels, so make sure that you are consuming adequate liquids daily.

If you find that after a few weeks of consuming more foods from the high fiber food chart you are still not having a daily bowel movement, consider adding a fiber supplement. One of the best natural foods high in dietary fiber is psyllium made from ground-up psyllium seeds. It may take several weeks to achieve daily bowel movements, but the reward will be that wastes and toxins will be eliminated from your system instead of your body reabsorbing them.

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