33 Foods High In Fiber That Can Help You With Constipation

Here’s what they are and the proper way to eat them, not just the places you get them from.

If you never eat food high in fiber, you will have problems, and bathrooms are one of the major ones.

We love to make sure most of these foods are in our kitchen because we know that the better our guts work, the better our body works, but reader, we don’t like wasting time, so here are the 33 we told you about.

We’ll tell you the essential things you need to know, like the two types of dietary fiber and what they do to your stomach, top high fiber foods, how much per day, etc…

33 Foods High In Fiber

**fiber foods list with roughly how much fiber you get from eating one cup of each

1. Black Beans -15g

2. Chickpeas -12g

3. Lentils -16g

4. Kidney Beans -11g

5. Pinto Beans -15g

6. Split Peas -16g

7. Quinoa (cooked) -5g

8. Brown Rice (cooked) -4g

9. Oats (cooked) -4g

10. Whole Wheat Pasta (cooked) -6g

11. Sunflower Seeds (hulled) -12g

12. Brussels Sprouts -4g

13. Broccoli -2.4g

14. Cauliflower -3g

15. Carrots -4g

16. Sweet Potatoes (baked) -6g

17. Butternut Squash (baked) -7g

18. Spinach (cooked) -6g

19. Kale (cooked) -7g

20. Almonds (whole) -16g

21. Asparagus -2g

22. Beets (cooked) -3g

23. Artichokes (cooked) -10g

24. Acorn Squash (baked) -9g

25. Pumpkin (cooked) -3g

26. Avocado -10g

27. Raspberries -8g

28. Blackberries -8g

29. Strawberries -3g

30. Blueberries -4g

31. Apples -4g

32. Pears -5g

33. Bananas -4g

What's Inside

1. What is Fiber and What Does It Do For You?
2. Poll
3. Types of Dietary Fiber
4. Top High Fiber Foods
5. How Much Fiber Per Day? Tips To Increase Fiber Intake
6. Common Misconceptions
7. FAQ
8. Infographic
9. Conclusion

What is Fiber and What Does It Do For You?

You can find fiber in our plant foods (fruits, vegetables, grains, etc). Your stomach doesn’t digest it, but it helps you with a lot:

• It keeps the food moving through your digestive system.

• Because it is bulky and keeps things moving in your system, it helps you avoid constipation.

• It helps your blood sugar levels steady because it slows down your body’s absorption of sugar, and since it does this, when you eat fiber with sugar or foods that turn into sugar (carbs), instead of getting the massive spike in energy and feeling tired after 2 hours which usually happens when you eat sugar, your energy level is more stable.

• Fiber keeps you fuller for longer because it takes longer to chew and digest; some people use this benefit of fiber to lose weight because when they eat a lot of foods high in fiber, it takes them a long time before they get hungry again.

• It acts like a cleanser in your stomach because since it’s so bulky, it pushes the things you don’t need in your gut out (bathroom).

• It feeds the bacteria colony in your stomach (gut microbiome), which helps make anti-inflammatory material in your body.

  This helps you combat any sicknesses you have because inflammation is basically at the root of most illnesses.

There are two types of dietary fiber, and you must know what each one does so you can choose the right ones and avoid any problems.

Here they are:

Poll

Types of Dietary Fiber

Soluble Fiber

Soluble means able to dissolve in water. 

These types of fibers can dissolve in water and turn into a gel-like texture (for example, oats and beans).

Soluble fiber has all the benefits we mentioned above, but when it passes through your stomach, it can absorb some of the water in your system, helping your bowels become soft.

These are the fiber foods to go for if you’re looking to make going to the bathroom a more straightforward process:

Where to get this type: 

Here is a list of soluble fibers in order, with the ones with the most fiber on top.

Just so you don’t waste your time and chewing energy, we also tell you WHAT NOT TO DO, with vital tips to get the most fiber out of them. 

**the numbers are all approximately how much fiber you get from eating one cup of each

Soluble Fiber Foods List
Flaxseeds	48g	ground them for maximum benefit
Psyllium Husk	48g	eat directly after mixing it with liquid; don’t let it be exposed to liquid for too long
Chia Seeds	38g	soak them before eating to make it easier to digest so you absorb the fiber better
Lentils (cooked)	16g	don’t over boil
Almonds	16g	the more raw with these, the better
Black Beans	15g	cook them only slightly for maximum benefit; avoid overcooking them
Chickpeas	12g	cooking them for too long means losing some of the fiber
Avocados	10g	also the more raw, the better
Edamame	8g	don’t cook them for too long
Sweet Potatoes	6g	you want to roast them with the skin on to get all the fiber; avoid overcooking and peeling them
Mangoes	5g	fruits already have lower fiber than a lot of other foods with fiber, so it’s better to keep them raw to get the maximum fiber benefits
Pears	5g	if you can, keep the skin on so you can get all the fiber it has
Brussels Sprouts	4g	you want to lightly steam or roast these to get the most fiber you can
Apples	4g	these also, eat with the skin on for the fiber benefits
Okra	4g	don’t cook them for too long to keep the fiber
Oats	4g	try and go for steel-cut or rolled oats; cooking them for too long would lessen the fiber in them
Carrots	4g	eat them lightly cooked/ avoid overcooking them for the fiber benefits
Blueberries	4g	better if raw for fiber
Strawberries	3g	also better if raw
Beets	3g	don't cok them too much for the fiber
Nectarines	2.4g	try to eat them with the skin for the maximum fiber benefits
Oranges	2.3g	you got it by now, eat them raw
Cabbage	2.2g	don’t overcook it
Tomatoes	2.2g	cook as little as possible
Cucumbers	0.5g	keep the skin them on for the fiber benefits; there’s only so much

RELATED POST: 35 Fruits and Vegetables That Should Not Be Refrigerated

Insoluble Fiber

These fiber types don’t dissolve in water (for example, wheat bran, some vegetables, and whole grains). 

The difference between these and the ones we discussed is that these don’t soften your stool; they help you go to the bathroom more often by pushing everything out with their bulkiness. 

In other words, they help you avoid constipation.

These are the ones you want to go for if your goal with eating fiber is to help you with constipation, and here are accessible places you could find them:

Where to get this type: 

These are easy because, unless otherwise mentioned, avoid overcooking them, and the ones you can eat raw, eat raw.

**the numbers are all approximately how much fiber you get from eating one cup of each

Insoluble Fiber Foods List
Wheat Bran (avoid exposing it to liquids for too long)	25g
Bulgur	8.2g
Raspberries	8g
Spinach	6g
Quinoa	5g
Corn	4.7g
Brown Rice	4g
Green Beans	3.4g
Beets	3g
Cauliflower	3g
Onions	2.7g
Bell Peppers	2.5g
Eggplant	2.5g
Broccoli	2.4g
Pineapple	2.3g
Asparagus	2g
Celery	1.6g
Zucchini	1.4g

Top High Fiber Foods

Here are the top foods high in fiber that most people generally choose when they want more fiber.

They are listed from the ones that have the most fiber to the ones that have the least.

• Legumes

• Nuts and Seeds

• Whole Grains

• Vegetables

• Fruits (they have fiber, but their amount is usually little because most fruits have a lot of water; and if you naturally have a lot of water in a type of food, it won’t have a lot of fiber in it)

How Much Fiber Per Day? Tips To Increase Fiber Intake

If you have to count how much of everything you need a day, you’ll, unfortunately, go down an endless rabbit hole unless a doctor explicitly tells you a specific amount to increase your daily fiber intake.

Don’t worry about it.

Just eat real food, and the fiber will be there. 

• If you notice that you have constipation, for example, and you want to eat foods high in fiber for constipation, choose an insoluble one like the ones we mentioned and eat regularly until the problem is solved. It’s just food; it’s not complicated.

Here are 2 tips for when you decide you want to start eating more fiber: 

• Add more slowly. If you add too much too fast, your stomach will be overwhelmed because it’s not used to having that much all at once, and you might start to feel symptoms, which we’ll discuss in the FAQ.

• Drink water with the fiber you eat - when loading it up on fiber, not drinking enough water to go with it is one of the worst things you can do because you’ll cause a backup in your system and get constipation; this is because fiber is bulky so it needs water to be able to move through your stomach and push other things along with it. 

• Remember we told you that fruits have less fiber than other foods high in fiber because most fruits have a lot of water?

  This means that foods high in fiber don’t usually come with much water, so you have to drink water to help the fiber help you.

Common Misconceptions

MISTAKE 1: ALL CARBS ARE BAD

Unless it’s not real food (the food that won’t disappear if electricity stopped tomorrow), concentrating on avoiding foods people have been eating for 1000s of years without a necessary reason will not help you much in the long run. Food is not complicated; try not to complicate it for yourself.

MISTAKE 2: FIBER CAUSES DIGESTIVE ISSUES

Fiber helps with digestive issues, but if you add too much too fast instead of slowly adding it to your daily foods, as mentioned above, or you don’t drink enough water, it will give you the symptoms we will discuss in the FAQ.

FAQ

• Are there any side effects of eating too much fiber?

  Overeating fiber might give you bloating, gas, and abdominal pain.

  Eating, for example, 20lbs a day might get you looking at a case of intestinal blockage.

• Can fiber rich foods help lower cholesterol?

  Reader, there are a lot of misconceptions about cholesterol.

  We teach you about real foods since that’s what our bodies know, and are made to process.

  We recommend you take a look at the following:

  https://www.nourishinggoodness.com/2017/04/11/saturated-fat-cholesterol/

• What are some quick and easy high fiber snacks?

  Apple Slices with Peanut Butter

  Carrot Sticks with Hummus

  Greek Yogurt with Berries

  Whole Grain Crackers with Cheese

  Popcorn

  Cottage Cheese with Pineapple

  Vegetable Sticks with Guacamole

  Trail Mix (easily mix your favorite nuts, seeds, and dried fruits together)

• Are there any specific high fiber foods recommended for children?

  Children can have the same high-fiber vegetables, fruits, and grains mentioned above, except each food must be adjusted appropriately to match the child's age, preferences, portion size, etc.…

  REMEMBER TO NOT INTRODUCE TOO MUCH FIBER ALL AT ONCE BEFORE ABDOMINAL SYMPTOMS START

• What about fiber supplements?

  It’s definitely better to get your fiber from Real foods unless a doctor tells you that you need fiber supplements for your situation.

  Eating foods high in fiber also gives you other benefits for your body and the fiber you’re getting from it.

Infographic

Conclusion

These fiber foods don’t just help with constipation; they also help slow down how fast the sugar you eat gets into the bloodstream. This protects your body from rapid spikes and drops in blood sugar, which can cause a whole set of problems in and of themselves.

Take the Next Step: Sugar is not the problem; it’s the fact that it’s in almost everything we eat. Check out this guide on the issues with the excessive hidden sugar we eat every day and why it’s causing many people worldwide to have a slow, Sweet DEATH.

Share Your Selection: What’s your favorite way of eating fiber during the day?

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