The Fiber Challenge: How to Meet Your Fiber Needs

It’s not hard — meet your daily fiber needs with our sample dietary fiber meal plan.

Yep, that dreaded F word (read more about that here) still continues to surface, even for those who practice a “clean, whole foods” diet.

Back when the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 was released, dietary fiber was noted as a nutrient of concern. This means we, Americans, still aren’t getting enough in our diets. For reference, American men and women eat only about 15 to 18 grams per day!

The Food and Drug Administration updated the percent Daily Value (DV) on the new food label (more about that here) from 25 to 28 grams given the findings on fiber. It’s a stellar nutrient that aids in laxation, reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and assists in maintaining normal blood glucose levels.

The DV represents a percentage based on a 2,000-calorie diet that helps individuals identify whether a food item is low (less than 5 percent) or high (greater than 20 percent) of a particular nutrient. Nutrients like saturated fat, trans fat, sodium and added sugar are recommended to be kept to a minimum. On the other hand, nutrients like fiber, calcium, potassium, iron and vitamin D are favorable to be above that 20 percent DV.

Where things get confusing is when you think about the other acronyms surrounding dietary fiber, such as the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) and Adequate Intake (AI). DRIs refer to the daily recommended intakes of macronutrients, vitamins and minerals for the general healthy population according to specific age and gender. For instance, the DRI for dietary fiber for adult males (19 to 50 years of age) is 38 grams/day, whereas for adult females (19 to 50 years of age) it’s 25 grams/day.

AI is a representative figure that is believed to cover the needs of all individuals in the group, which for dietary fiber is listed as 14 grams/total fiber per 1,000 calories, or the equivalent of the DRIs listed above.

The FDA couldn’t keep it easy for us, huh? Don’t fret, we break down just how to meet your daily fiber needs below, and trust us, with a little prep, you’ll be on your way to meeting if not exceeding your dietary fiber needs in no time!

Sample Dietary Fiber Meal Plan 

Daily Total Dietary Fiber: 64.5 grams

Note: Fiber Values Taken From DGA 2015-2020 Appendix

*As you can see, this is a vegetarian meal plan. If you prefer animal proteins, feel free to substitute the garbanzo beans and black beans at lunch and dinner for a lean protein option, noting fiber content will decrease to a daily total of 48.9 grams, still well above average!