Dietery fiber is an essential part of anyone’s balanced diet and is definitely something that should be added to your daily intake in some way or the other. Dietary fiber is basically the carbs that are present in plants which cannot be digested by your body. Any type of dietary fiber, be it soluble or insoluble are extremely important to maintain a healthy gut!
Soluble fiber is known to attract water to your gut thus helping in softening stools further contributing to maintaining a regular bowel movement. During the timr of digestion, the fiber gets converted from water to gel, as a result of which the process of digestion slows down.
Apart from helping you feel fuller, soluble fibers also reduce constipation, cholesterol and blood sugar levels. So let us see what are the top 3 soluble fiber rich foods on the planet!
- Sweet Potato:
Also known as yams, sweet potatoes have been doing the rounds of the health food market for quite some time now. Apart from fiber, sweet potatoes are also rich in potassium, beta-carotene and Vitamin B. Did you know that a mere serving of half a cup of cooked sweet potato contains close to 1.8 gms of soluble fiber?
Soluble fiber is extremely important if you are looking to manage weight and contributes brilliantly to the release of hormones in the gut that help you feel fuller as a result of which you end up eating less!
- Carrots
Carrots happen to be one of the most versatile and healthiest vegetables on the planet, and are definitely something worth giving your attention to! They can be had in any way, be it boiled or steamed or even sautéed. Can you imagine a tasty and healthy salad WITHOUT carrots in it? Well, we sure can’t!
Packed with beta-carotene and vitamin A, this gorgeous vegetable supports your eye health exceptionally well and plays a crucial role in maintaining a healthy night vision! A single cup, i.e. close to 128 grams of chopped carrots, contains almost 4.6 grams of fiber out of which half is soluble! Surely something we stand by and recommend adding to your daily intake without a second thought!
- Oats
Another versatile food on the list, oats happen to be one the best superfoods available to us! Extremely healthy and something that can be used in a number of dishes, be it in cereals, bread or even healthy fruit crumbles, oats is a definite yes when it comes to pantry staples!
Oats are rich in beta-glucan which are a form of soluble fiber known to reduce bad cholesterol and even is brilliant in controlling blood sugar levels. Beta-glucan has also been known to reduce the risk of heart diseases when a mere amount of 3gms of the nutrient is added to your daily diet! Only 100 gms of oats a day contributes to 10gms of total dietary fiber intake out of which 4.2 is soluble in nature!
We always recommend that if you are looking at increasing your soluble fiber intake, you should do it in a gradual manner rather than introducing it all in one go! And always remember to drink plenty of water when you are eating soluble fiber since this helps the fiber to form into a gel!
