Total dietary fiber refers to the total cell wall components in the plant. Dietary fiber is not digested by the endegenous enzymes in our body. Dietary fiber is known to have health benefits including against diabetes mellitus type II, constipation, cancer etc.
Soluble fiber refers to the dietary fiber components that are soluble in water.
Insoluble fiber refers to the dietary fiber components that are insoluble in water.
The following tables contain lists of vegetables, fruits and legumes and estimates of their total dietary fiber, soluble fiber and insoluble fiber content. The fiber content of the foods was estimated on fresh weight basis of the plant part. It should be noted that fiber content of vegetables, fruits or any plant part varies owing to many factors such growth condition (climate, soil, etc), time of harvest, species, etc.
The following tables have lists of fruits and vegetables ordered from the high to low total dietary fiber content.
Table 1: List of vegetables with their insoluble, soluble, and total fiber content (g/ 100 g edible food portion).
| Fiber Food Source | Insoluble Fibe | Soluble fiber | Total dietary fiber |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bitter gourd | 13.5 | 3.1 | 16.6 |
| Field beans | 9.3 | 2.1 | 11.4 |
| Broad beans | 7.3 | 0.8 | 8.3 |
| Beet root | 5.4 | 2.4 | 7.8 |
| Cluster beans | 6.1 | 0.6 | 6.7 |
| Green plantain | 5.8 | 0.2 | 6.0 |
| Carrot | 4.1 | 1.6 | 5.7 |
| Fenugreek leaves | 4.2 | 0.7 | 4.9 |
| Lady fingers | 3.0 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
| Cauliflower | 3.5 | 0.7 | 4.2 |
| Spinach | 3.5 | 0.6 | 4.1 |
| Potato | 2.6 | 0.6 | 3.2 |
| French beans | 3.0 | 0.1 | 3.1 |
| Onion | 0.9 | 1.1 | 2.0 |
Table 2: List of fresh fruits, nuts and seeds with their insoluble, soluble, and total fiber content (g/ 100 g edible food portion).
| Fiber source | Insoluble fiber content | Soluble fiber content | Total fiber content |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Fruit
|
|||
| Kiwi | 2.61 | 0.80 | 3.39 |
| Apple, with skin | 2.00 | 0.70 | 2.70 |
| Banana | 1.80 | 0.60 | 2.40 |
| Pear | 1.10 | 1.30 | 2.40 |
| Strawberry | 1.70 | 0.60 | 2.30 |
| Peach | 1.20 | 0.80 | 2.00 |
| Mango | 1.06 | 0.74 | 1.80 |
| Plum, freh | 0.70 | 0.80 | 1.50 |
| Pineaple, fresh | 1.10 | 0.10 | 1.20 |
| Grapes | 0.60 | 0.40 | 1.00 |
| Pomegranate | 0.49 | 0.11 | 0.60 |
| Watermelon | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.50 |
|
Nuts, seeds
|
|||
| Flax seed | 10.15 | 12.18 | 22.33 |
| Almonds | 10.10 | 1.10 | 11.20 |
| Sesame seed | 5.89 | 1.90 | 7.79 |
| Brazil nuts | 4.10 | 1.30 | 5.40 |
Dietary fiber related links:
Total dietary fiber, soluble fiber, insoluble fiber content of foods
Definitions of dietary fiber food.
List of high fiber food: vegetables and fruits
List of low fiber foods
Dietary fiber: Recommended Daily Reference Intakes (DRIs, RDAs) for fiber
Data sources:
Farhath Khanum M., Siddalinga Swamy, K. R. Sudarshana Krishna, K. Santhanam, and K. R. Viswanathan. 2000. Dietary fiber content of commonly fresh and cooked vegetables consumed in India. Plant Foods for Human Nutrition 55: 207-218.
Sally F. Schakel, Janet Pettit, and john H. Himes. Dietary fiber values for common foods. In: Spiller, G. A. 2001.The CRC Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition. 3 ed. CRC Press, London.