Key Take Outs

Fiber – how much you need and common dietary sources

Dietary fiber consists of carbohydrates and lignin that are resistant to digestion by endogenous enzymes produced by the human small intestines. This includes nondigestible oligosaccharides (carbohydrates with 3-9 monomeric subunits) and polysaccharides.1,2

 

Dietary fiber has a number of benefits including maintenance of gut health, lowering cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar levels.3 Unfortunately, less than 10% of women, 3% of men, and 1% of children aged 1-6 meet their daily recommended intake of fiber.4,5

 

Download the infographic on some common sources of fiber and recommended intake for a convenient quick reference.

Sources of dietary fiber

  1. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Statement of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies related to dietary fibre. EFSA Journal, 2007  5(8):1060, 8 pp. August 2007 [Internet; cited 2024 July 22]. Available at: https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2007.1060
  2. Trumbo, Paula et al. Dietary reference intakes for energy, carbohydrate, fiber, fat, fatty acids, cholesterol, protein and amino acids. Journal of the American Dietetic Association vol. 102,11 (2002): 1621-30. doi:10.1016/s0002-8223(02)90346-9.
  3. Anderson JW, Baird P, Davis RH, Ferreri S, Knudtson M, Koraym A, Water V, Williams CL. Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutr Rev, 2009. 67(4):188-205. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1753-4887.2009.00189.x
  4. U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. 9th Edition. December 2020 [Internet; cited 2024 July 22]. Available at: https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/resources/2020-2025-dietary-guidelines-online-materials
  5. Bailey A, Fulgoni III V, Shah N, Patterson A, Gutierrez-Orozco F, Mathews R and Walsh K et al. Nutrient Intake Adequacy from Food and Beverage Intake of US Children Aged 1–6 Years from NHANES 2001–2016. Nutrients, 2021. 13(3), p.827. https://dx.doi.org/10.3390%2Fnu13030827

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Dietary sources of fiber