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Dietary fiber has long since become a pretty common term. However, I think relatively few people know there are two distinctly different kinds of dietary fiber, and that they have completely different effects on your digestion.
Soluble fiber slows down gastric emptying. It completely mixes with anything else with which it is consumed to form sort of a paste in your stomach. Think of the consistency of school paste and you'll quickly understand why gastric emptying is slowed down when your meal is consumed with significant amounts of soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber is great for reducing the glycemic index (GI) of any carbohydrate with which it is consumed. (The GI is a numerical representation of the rate at which a carb is transformed into glucose by digestion. The lower the number, the slower the transformation). That means consuming 10 grams or so of soluble fiber with let's say a banana, which has a fairly high GI, will make that banana raise your blood sugar no more rapidly than perhaps a sweet potato. If you want to lose body fat, this would always be desirable.
Insoluble fiber accelerates digestion, from the stomach all the way to colon. Think of a putting a tablespoon of sand in a glass of water. Wouldn't matter how long and hard you stirred, the sand would always remain separate from the water. Because it cannot mix with your food, insoluble fiber acts as sort of a carrier agent sweeping the food along with it. As you might imagine it is great for preventing constipation.
Too much of either type of fiber wouldn't be ideal, since you'd either be speeding up or slowing down your digestion too much. Too speedy transit time and you will not absorb as much of the nutrients in your meals. Too slow a transit time and you reabsorb too much bile which impairs your liver's ability to detoxify itself.
All fibrous foods will have some degree of each type of fiber. The lists below depict the amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber in common fibrous whole foods.
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Breads, Cereals, and Pasta
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Cornflakes 1 cup 0.5 0.0 0.5
White bread 1 slice 0.53 0.03 0.5
Rye bread 1 slice 2.7 0.8 1.9
Whole grain bread 1 slice 2.9 0.08 2.8
French bread 1 slice 1.0 0.4 0.6
Dinner roll 1 roll 0.8 0.03 0.8
White rice 1/2 cup cooked 0. 5 0.5 0.0
Brown rice 1/2 cup cooked 1.3 1.3 0.0
Egg noodles 1/2 cup cooked 0.8 0.3 0.8
Spaghetti 1/2 cup cooked 0.8 0.02 0.8
Bran (100%) cereal 1/2 cup 10.0 0.3 9.7
Rolled Oats 3/4 cup cooked 3.0 1.3 1.7
Oat bran 100g 15 5.0
Psyllium husk 10g 8.0 7.1 0.9
Oats, whole 1/2 cup cooked 1.6 0.5 1.1
Corn grits 1/2 cup cooked 1.9 0.61 0.3
Graham crackers 2 1.4 0.04 1.4
Rye wafers 3 2.3 0.06 2.2
Popcorn 3 cups 2.8 0.8 2.0
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Fruits
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Apple 1 small 3.9 2.3 1.6
Apricots 2 medium 1.3 0.9 0.4
Banana 1 small 1.3 0.6 0.7
Blackberries 1/2 cup 3.7 0.7 3.0
Cherries 10 0.9 0.3 0.6
Grapefruit 1/2 fruit 1.3 0.90 0.4
Orange 1 medium 2.0 1.3 0.7
Peach 1 medium 1.0 0.5 0.5
Pear 1 small 2.5 0.6 1.9
Pineapple 1/2 cup 0.8 0.2 0.6
Plums 2 medium 2.3 1.3 1.0
Strawberries 3/4 cup 2.4 0.9 1.5
Tangerine 1 medium 1.6 1.4 0.4
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Vegetables
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Broccoli 1 stalk 2.7 1.3 1.4
Carrots 1 large 2.9 1.3 1.6
Corn 2/3 cup 1.6 0.2 1.4
Lettuce 1 cup raw 0.5 0.2 0.3
Parsnips 1/2 cup cooked 4.4 0.4 4.0
Peas 1/2 cup cooked 5.2 2.0 3.2
Potatoes 1 small 3.8 2.2 1.6
Squash, summer 1/2 cup cooked 2.3 1.1 1.2
Tomato 1 small 0.8 0.1 0.7
Zucchini 1/2 cup cooked 2.5 1.1 1.4
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Legumes & Lentils
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Green peas 2/3 cup cooked 3.9 0.6 3.3
Kidney beans 1/2 cup cooked 4.5 0.5 4.0
Lentils 2/3 cup cooked 4.5 0.6 3.9
Lima beans 1/2 cup cooked 1.4 0.2 1.2
Pinto beans 1/2 cup cooked 3.0 2.2 0.7
White beans 1/2 cup cooked 4.2 0.4 3.8
Edit: ok I can't get the column formatting right.
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/soluble-fiber-foods-list.html
Soluble fiber slows down gastric emptying. It completely mixes with anything else with which it is consumed to form sort of a paste in your stomach. Think of the consistency of school paste and you'll quickly understand why gastric emptying is slowed down when your meal is consumed with significant amounts of soluble fiber.
Soluble fiber is great for reducing the glycemic index (GI) of any carbohydrate with which it is consumed. (The GI is a numerical representation of the rate at which a carb is transformed into glucose by digestion. The lower the number, the slower the transformation). That means consuming 10 grams or so of soluble fiber with let's say a banana, which has a fairly high GI, will make that banana raise your blood sugar no more rapidly than perhaps a sweet potato. If you want to lose body fat, this would always be desirable.
Insoluble fiber accelerates digestion, from the stomach all the way to colon. Think of a putting a tablespoon of sand in a glass of water. Wouldn't matter how long and hard you stirred, the sand would always remain separate from the water. Because it cannot mix with your food, insoluble fiber acts as sort of a carrier agent sweeping the food along with it. As you might imagine it is great for preventing constipation.
Too much of either type of fiber wouldn't be ideal, since you'd either be speeding up or slowing down your digestion too much. Too speedy transit time and you will not absorb as much of the nutrients in your meals. Too slow a transit time and you reabsorb too much bile which impairs your liver's ability to detoxify itself.
All fibrous foods will have some degree of each type of fiber. The lists below depict the amounts of soluble and insoluble fiber in common fibrous whole foods.
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Breads, Cereals, and Pasta
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Cornflakes 1 cup 0.5 0.0 0.5
White bread 1 slice 0.53 0.03 0.5
Rye bread 1 slice 2.7 0.8 1.9
Whole grain bread 1 slice 2.9 0.08 2.8
French bread 1 slice 1.0 0.4 0.6
Dinner roll 1 roll 0.8 0.03 0.8
White rice 1/2 cup cooked 0. 5 0.5 0.0
Brown rice 1/2 cup cooked 1.3 1.3 0.0
Egg noodles 1/2 cup cooked 0.8 0.3 0.8
Spaghetti 1/2 cup cooked 0.8 0.02 0.8
Bran (100%) cereal 1/2 cup 10.0 0.3 9.7
Rolled Oats 3/4 cup cooked 3.0 1.3 1.7
Oat bran 100g 15 5.0
Psyllium husk 10g 8.0 7.1 0.9
Oats, whole 1/2 cup cooked 1.6 0.5 1.1
Corn grits 1/2 cup cooked 1.9 0.61 0.3
Graham crackers 2 1.4 0.04 1.4
Rye wafers 3 2.3 0.06 2.2
Popcorn 3 cups 2.8 0.8 2.0
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Fruits
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Apple 1 small 3.9 2.3 1.6
Apricots 2 medium 1.3 0.9 0.4
Banana 1 small 1.3 0.6 0.7
Blackberries 1/2 cup 3.7 0.7 3.0
Cherries 10 0.9 0.3 0.6
Grapefruit 1/2 fruit 1.3 0.90 0.4
Orange 1 medium 2.0 1.3 0.7
Peach 1 medium 1.0 0.5 0.5
Pear 1 small 2.5 0.6 1.9
Pineapple 1/2 cup 0.8 0.2 0.6
Plums 2 medium 2.3 1.3 1.0
Strawberries 3/4 cup 2.4 0.9 1.5
Tangerine 1 medium 1.6 1.4 0.4
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Vegetables
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Broccoli 1 stalk 2.7 1.3 1.4
Carrots 1 large 2.9 1.3 1.6
Corn 2/3 cup 1.6 0.2 1.4
Lettuce 1 cup raw 0.5 0.2 0.3
Parsnips 1/2 cup cooked 4.4 0.4 4.0
Peas 1/2 cup cooked 5.2 2.0 3.2
Potatoes 1 small 3.8 2.2 1.6
Squash, summer 1/2 cup cooked 2.3 1.1 1.2
Tomato 1 small 0.8 0.1 0.7
Zucchini 1/2 cup cooked 2.5 1.1 1.4
Soluble & Insoluble Fibers In Legumes & Lentils
Serving Size Total Fiber (g) Soluable Fiber (g) Insoluble Fiber (g)
Green peas 2/3 cup cooked 3.9 0.6 3.3
Kidney beans 1/2 cup cooked 4.5 0.5 4.0
Lentils 2/3 cup cooked 4.5 0.6 3.9
Lima beans 1/2 cup cooked 1.4 0.2 1.2
Pinto beans 1/2 cup cooked 3.0 2.2 0.7
White beans 1/2 cup cooked 4.2 0.4 3.8
Edit: ok I can't get the column formatting right.
http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/soluble-fiber-foods-list.html
