Fibrous Vegetables

“Fibrous Vegetables” was written by Genevieve Bowman, RDCS, edited by Avery Karp, & final review/edit completed by Aly Bouzek, MS, RDN. Avery is a dietetic student at Kennesaw State University.

Fiber is an important part of a healthy balanced diet, especially in older adults. Your physician may have recommended that you increase your fiber intake, particularly from fibrous vegetables.

You may be unsure what fiber is, what vegetables are good sources of fiber, and how fiber benefits your health. Well, let’s start with the basics of fiber.

What is Fiber?

Fiber is an essential nutrient needed by your body for healthy functioning and disease prevention. It is a type of carbohydrate that isn’t broken down during digestion, allowing it to perform unique functions in your digestive tract.

Fiber is found in plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

The USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that adults consume:

25 grams of fiber: females aged 31 – 50 years old
22 grams of fiber: females aged 51+ years
31 grams of fiber: males 31 – 50 years old
28 grams of fiber: males 51+ years

However, most adults consume less than 50% of daily fiber recommendations.

Types of Fiber

There are two different types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. They both play an important role in digestion and your health.

Soluble fiber dissolves in the water in your stomach to form a gel-like substance. It slows down digestion keeping you feeling full longer and helps control blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Insoluble fiber remains mostly intact throughout the digestive system. It adds bulk to your stools helping to keep you regular and improving insulin sensitivity. You may refer to these foods as “roughage” for their ability to “scrub” the digestive tract clean.

Health Benefits of Fiber (and Fibrous Vegetables!)

Adequate amounts of fiber, particularly fibrous vegetables, have many health benefits. These health benefits can help manage diabetes and cholesterol levels, as well as lower the risk of chronic disease and some cancers.

Key health benefits of fiber for older adults include:

Blood sugar control
Weight control
Preventing heart disease
Improving digestive health
Improving overall health

Blood Sugar Control

Fibrous vegetables are not broken down the way other carbohydrates are. This helps maintain steady blood sugar levels crucial for the prevention of and management of diabetes. Better control of blood sugar may allow for reduced reliance on medications and insulin.

Weight Control

Fibrous Vegetables for Weight Management.

Fibrous vegetables don’t break down and they stay in the stomach longer.

This keeps you feeling full longer. They also tend to be lower in calories aiding in maintaining a healthier weight.

By eating more fibrous vegetables, you may tend to eat less throughout the day helping with weight control.

Prevent Heart Disease

Since much of the fibrous vegetable content is not digested, it prevents the body from absorbing all of the fat and cholesterol in the foods you eat. Instead, the excess fat and cholesterol are eliminated with your stools.

This aids in better cholesterol control reducing the risk of heart disease.

Improved Digestive Health

Fibrous vegetables improve the good bacteria of the digestive tract and provide antioxidant-like properties improving digestive health. Improved digestive health can aid in reducing the risk of certain cancers such as colon cancer.

Insoluble fibrous vegetables also add bulk to your stools that helps to keep things moving and reduces constipation.

Improved Overall Health

Fibrous vegetables are also high in many vitamins and minerals essential to overall health and disease prevention. Along with healthy fats and proteins, fibrous vegetables can aid in meeting the specific nutrient needs of an older adult.

For the greatest health benefits, choose from a variety of vegetables to meet your recommended daily nutrient needs.

Examples of Fibrous Vegetables

You may be wondering about where to begin adding fiber to your diet and which fibrous vegetables have the most fiber content. Many of the vegetables you regularly eat are excellent choices, but here are a few other examples to consider:

Common Fibrous Vegetables to Include in Your Diet

Vegetable	Serving Size	Grams of Fiber
Lima Beans, cooked	1 cup	9.2
Lentils, cooked	½ cup	7.8
Black Beans, cooked	½ cup	7.5
Brussels Sprouts, cooked	1 cup	6.4
Sweet Potato, cooked	1 cup	6.3
Kidney Beans, cooked	½ cup	5.7
Broccoli, cooked	1 cup	5.2
Avocado	½ cup	5.0
Cauliflower, cooked	1 cup	4.9
Carrots, cooked	1 cup	4.8
Kale, cooked	1 cup	4.7
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	4.3
Green Beans (snap), cooked	1 cup	4.0
Russet Potato, baked with skin	1 medium	3.9
Mushrooms, cooked	1 cup	3.4
Asparagus, cooked	1 cup	2.9
Beets, cooked	1 cup	2.8

Tips on Adding Fibrous Vegetables to your Diet

Now that you’ve learned about the benefits of fibrous vegetables, you may be wondering how to begin adding more to your diet and if there are any considerations with doing so.

Here are a few tips:

Increase the number of fibrous vegetables in your diet gradually. Add small amounts every few days or so and spread your intake throughout the day. Sudden increases can cause bloating, gas, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Drink plenty of fluids when consuming fibrous vegetables and other sources of fiber. This will allow for the fibrous foods to pass through the digestive system smoothly.
Add beans and legumes to soups, stews, and salads.
Incorporate fibrous vegetables with your breakfast. Ideas include putting avocado on your toast or adding carrots, beets, or spinach to a healthy smoothie.
Snack on fibrous vegetables such as baby carrots, cucumber slices, or bell pepper slices.
Leave the skins on the vegetables for an added amount of fiber.
Choose whole fibrous vegetables over supplements to benefit from the added vitamins and minerals in the vegetables.

Additional Fiber Foods Resources

Check out these high fiber resources if you are wanting to increase your fiber intake today!