Healthy Eating Plans Blog: How to Quick Check on Your Daily Fiber Intake

Well, to do quick check on your daily fiber intake, you need a check list - Quick Fiber Check (I attached it this post).

This Check list is actually using a simple scoring concept able to estimate the fiber content of virtually everything in the grocery store and calculate your own fiber intake.

To check your meals, write down everything you eat or drink for one full day on the form that follows. Next to each food, jot in its fiber score, using the following guide:

Beans:
1) For each half-cup serving of beans or lentils or any food that includes about this
amount of bean or lentils as an ingredient - scores 7

2) One cup of soy milk or one-half cup of tofu - scores 3.

Vegetables:
1) For each one-cup serving of vegetables - scores 4.
2) An exception is lettuce, for which one cup - scores 2.
3) A potato with skin - scores 4.
4) A potato without the skin - scores 2.

Fruit:
1) For each medium piece of fruit (e.g., apple, orange, banana, one cup of apple
sauce, a banana smoothie) - scores 3.
2) For one cup of juice - scores 1.

Grains:
1) For each piece of white bread, bagel, or equivalent - score 1.
2) Whole grain breads - score 2.
3) One cup of cooked pasta - scores 2.
4) One cup of white rice - scores 1.
5) One cup of brown rice - scores 3.
6) One cup of cooked oatmeal - scores 4.
7) Typical ready-to-eat cereals - score 3.
8) Highly processed and colored cereals - score 1.
9) Bran - score 8.

Meat, poultry, or fish - score 0. (Animal products do not contain fiber).
Eggs or dairy products - score 0.
Sodas, water: - score 0.

Interpreting Your Quick Fiber Check Score:

Less than 20:
You need more fiber in your diet. As it is, your appetite will be hard to control, and you may have occasional constipation. Boosting fiber will help tame your appetite and can cut your risk of many health problems.

20–39:
You are doing better than most people in Western countries, but as you bring more fiber into your diet, you will find that it makes foods more satisfying and cuts your calorie intake a bit.

40 or more:
Congratulations. You have plenty of healthy fiber in your diet. It tames your appetite and helps keep you healthy. Fiber also reduces your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and digestive problems.