Fiber not only helps the digestive system stay healthy but also plays an important role in sleep quality. Consuming enough fiber helps stabilize blood sugar overnight, prolong the feeling of fullness to avoid waking up from hunger, while reducing inflammatory reactions and nourishing the gut microbiome that stimulates the production of natural sleep hormone melatonin.
With simple changes such as eating more lentils, adding more ingredients to smoothies, adding vegetables and fruits to every meal and choosing fruits as snacks, you can completely optimize the amount of fiber you consume each day.
Increase beans and lentils
Beans and lentils are rich sources of fiber, reasonably priced and very versatile in cooking dishes. You can easily add beans to your family meals by adding them to soups, stews, and mixing with fresh salads. You can also cook beans with brown rice or grind beans with dipping sauces and nutritional smoothies.
Blend combines a variety of fiber-rich ingredients
In addition to common green leafy vegetables and fresh fruits, you can completely turn a smoothie into a source of fiber by adding ingredients such as flattened oats, avocados, nuts (almonds, walnuts, chia seeds), cooked beans or a few sprigs of frozen cauliflower.
Distribute fiber regularly into every main and snack meal
Instead of just focusing on one meal, spreading the amount of fiber throughout the day helps the gut digest more easily. For breakfast, you can add a handful of raspberries or strawberries to a bowl of oatmeal and yogurt.
For lunch and snacks, you can sprinkle more chia seeds and flax seeds on a salad plate or a glass of juice. For dinner, you can add lentils and vegetables such as cauliflower and cabbage to the main menu.
Prioritize fresh fruits for snacks
Avocado, apples, pears and berries are rich and convenient sources of natural fiber. To enhance the flavor and healthy nutrients, you can combine sliced apples or pears dipped in almond butter, coat the berries with cottage cheese, or grind butter to make sauces to eat with whole grain cookies.
