Fiber for Seniors
What is Fiber?
Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that does not
breakdown during digestion. Fiber is found in
plant foods. There are two types of fiber:
soluble fiber and insoluble fiber. Soluble fiber
is found in fruits and vegetables, dried beans,
oats, barley, and rice. Insoluble fiber is often
referred to as roughage and is found in wheat,
whole grain breads and cereals, fruit and
vegetable skins, nuts, and seeds. About 70%
of our fiber intake is from insoluble fiber and
30% from soluble fiber.
Increasing Fiber in Your Diet:
• Read food labels and pick products that
are higher in fiber.
• Use whole grain flour rather than white
flour for baking.
• Eat fruits and vegetables with the skin.
• Try whole grains like whole wheat, corn,
or oats.
• Substitute legumes (beans or peanuts)
for meat a couple of times a week.
• Replace white rice with brown rice.
• Eat a high fiber cereal for breakfast or
add fruit to your cereal in the morning.
• Snack on popcorn instead of potato
chips.
• Eat romaine lettuce or spinach instead of
iceberg lettuce.
Reading food labels can help you
determine how much fiber you are getting
in your diet. Foods that contain more than
4 grams of fiber are high fiber foods and
foods that contain less than 2 grams of
fiber are low fiber foods.
Benefits of eating fiber:
• Increases the feeling of fullness which
helps control appetite and weight
• Decreases the risk of colon cancer
Soluble
• Decreases the risk of heart disease
• Helps manage blood glucose
Insoluble
• Keeps waste products moving through
the digestive system
• Reduces the symptoms in some
digestive disorders
• Decreases the transit time of food
through the digestive tract
• Prevents constipation
• Promotes bowel regularity
When you want to increase fiber in your
diet, make sure you do so gradually and
drink plenty of fluids to keep it moving
through your body. Don’t eat all of your
fiber for the day in one sitting, spread it
out throughout the day.
Fiber Supplements
High fiber foods are usually high in other nutrients
as well. It is hard to determine if the benefits from
a high fiber diet all actually come from fiber or if
other nutrients also contribute. Fiber supplements
usually contain only one type of fiber, so eating a
variety of different foods containing different types
of fiber is a better o
p
tion.
The recommended fiber intake for people over 50 is 21 grams per day for women and 30 grams per
da
y
for men.
Created by Kristie Wolfley and Pauline Williams. Utah State University is an equal opportunity /affirmative action institution.
