Fiber hacks

For many people, the word "fibre" conjures up images of breakfast cereals, lentils, brown rice, and other responsibly healthy (but not always exciting) foods. But some foods that are both healthy and genuinely delicious are surprisingly high in fibre too.

Surprisingly high in fibre

Avocados, for example, contain 6.7 grams of fibre per 100 grams — enough to clear the threshold (6 grams) that officially qualifies a food as "high in fibre." Passion fruit clocks in at 10 grams and raspberries at 9.1 grams.

Popcorn delivers a full 14 grams — nearly half the recommended daily amount in a 100-gram bowl (which, I'll admit, is a fair amount of popcorn).

Surprisingly low in fibre

On the flip side, some foods you might expect to be high in fibre actually contain very little. Celery, for instance, has just 1.5 grams per 100 grams, and cabbage only 1.7 grams.

From a fibre perspective, you'd actually do better eating crisps (3.9 grams) or dark chocolate (6.1 grams).

Smarter with starch

White pasta and rice don't contain much fibre when eaten freshly cooked — but that changes when you let them cool down. The starch crystallizes into resistant starch, which remains intact when you reheat the pasta or rice.

Resistant starch behaves like fibre in your gut: it passes undigested through the small intestine and serves as food for the beneficial bacteria in your large intestine.

Conclusion

Fiber doesn't have to be boring. With a little thought, you can increase your fibre intake with foods you already enjoy: avocados, raspberries, popcorn, or a piece of dark chocolate. And by letting pasta or rice cool before eating, you get extra fibre for free.