FIBER FOODS

In my last column, I labeled carbs as "good" and "bad."  Really, there is no such thing as a good or a bad carbohydrate.  After all, glucose is glucose.  But some carbs come with a better packaging than others.  Our goal is to choose the best packaging, and I'm not talking about the pretty box on the shelf...

Take white sugar, for example.  Highly refined, it's just sucrose.  But change it for raw (brown) sugar, you now get some minerals with it, and better nutrition.

The more complex carbohydrates are better for us because they carry other nutrients: fiber of course, but also protein, omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.  The more "stuff" in a food, the more "nutrient-dense," and the better for our health.  The trick is to get the most nutrients for the least calories.

What does that mean to your plate?  In terms of carbohydrates, it means to choose from whole vegetables, fruits, beans and whole grains, the higher in fiber the better.  So, here is my list of my 5 top fiber foods:

1. Black Beans and other dried legumes. 
   
2. Broccoli
3. Raspberries and other red berries
4. Barley and Quinoa grain
5. Apples and Pears

See below the nutrition info, not the best post I've managed, but you can see the nutrition analysis for each of the 5 foods.

FOOD	Fiber (g)	Cal.	Carb Protein     Fat	Vitamins	Minerals	Omega 6/  Omega 3
Black beans (1/2c) (boiled, no salt) & dried beans	10	100	18g    7g      1g	Folate Thiamin	Manganese Phosphorus Magnesium Iron	90 / 75
Broccoli (1c) cooked	9	98	21g    7g      1g	Vit K Vit C Vit A Folate	Manganese Potassium Phosphorus Magnesium Iron Calcium	143/333 mg
Raspberries (1c) & Red Berries	8	64	15g    1g       1g	Vit. C Vit. K	Manganese	306/155 mg
Barley (1/2c)	3	94	22g    2g      1g	Niacin	Manganese Selenium Iron	303/33 mg
Apples & Pears With skin  (1 small)	4	77	21   0     0	Vit. C		64/13 mg