Patient/caregiver was educated on measures to plan for high fiber diet recommendation as follows:
- Fiber is a complex carbohydrate and is an essential component of diet. It is majorly found in plants and plant products. Include more of whole fresh fruits, non-starchy vegetables, legumes, and whole grains on your diet plan to improve fiber intake.
- Grains are refined to improve the texture and shelf life, but during the process of refining grains lose fiber along with other nutrients, such as, iron and B-vitamins. Whole grains have their fiber and nutrient contents preserved. Choosing healthy breakfast items made of whole grains, such as, whole wheat, whole grain barley, whole oats, whole brown rice, whole rye, and quinoa, against unhealthy breakfast items such as, cereals made of refined grains, pancakes, waffles, and granola bars can help improve on fiber intake. While choosing cereal items from the shelf, pick cereals with at least 5 grams of fiber per serving.
- Having more of non-starchy vegetables that are particularly low in calories and high in fiber content, such as, asparagus, beans, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots, radish, mushroom, peppers, peas, and tomato can significantly increase fiber intake. Eating a small serving of these vegetables for a mid-morning or evening snack can help with feeling full, contribute to reduced intake during mealtime, and cut down on consumption of extra calories.
