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This high-fiber vegetables list rocks some of the best plants ever—from artichokes and spinach to beetroot, cauliflower, collard greens, and more. 💚
Experts have been sounding the alarm for years now that most folks eating a typical American diet have become woefully low on fiber.
In fact recent reports show that over 95% of Americans are fiber-deficient, with only a tiny fraction getting anywhere near the daily 25-38 grams of dietary fiber they need.
On top of that, the consequences of deficiency are staggering, including the “depletion of the human gastrointestinal microbiota,” cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, colon cancer, and more.
Not to mention a higher rate of all cause mortality for folks who eat the least fiber.
So the best jam ever is a fiber-rich diet, and especially packed with high-quality, nutrient-dense vegetables.
But in case you’re wondering . . .
What Exactly Is Fiber?
Dietary fiber is literally manna for the biome. Composed of lignin and other indigestible parts, it’s located in a plant’s cell walls—a carbohydrate that passes through the body undigested.
It rocks soluble and insoluble fibers that perform different roles, such as blood sugar management, inflammation suppression, and nourishing the gut.
Studies show that dietary fibers like prebiotics, probiotics, and beta-glucans are immensely important. They boost the immune system, mitigate disease, and can help you lose weight.
They’re also key to your overall health and the smooth functioning of your metabolism.
Well the good news is raw organic veggies—and the ones we tend to cook, like Brussels sprouts—are jam-packed with fiber. This list highlights some of the very best. 💚 🌱
Such as . . .
Artichokes
Artichokes are not only delicious, they’re one of the highest-fiber veggies ever. In fact a medium-sized choke rocks 10 grams of dietary fiber and more.
They’re also super versatile when cooked and dipped in mayo, pickled, fermented, used in salads, pastas, casseroles, and tasty hors d’oeuvres.
The best part is they’re literally jam-packed with nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, polyphenols, flavonoids, and the prebiotic ‘inulin’ that nourishes the gut.
They also boost liver health, help eliminate toxins, and can help you lose weight.
Here’s a list:
Artichoke fiber supplement (inulin)
Spinach
Spinach is another of the very best and healthiest vegetables for fiber. It rocks roughly six grams per six-ounce serving and more.
It’s also one of the most nutrient-dense fiber plants with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and whole slews of bioactive compounds.
According to one report, spinach “appears to be protective in vitro against breast cancer, brain tumor, kidney cancer, lung cancer, pediatric brain tumor, stomach cancer, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer cells, due perhaps in part to its chlorophyll content, which may protect DNA against mutations.”
And it’s easy to use in smoothies, salads, casseroles, vegan falafel recipes, lettuce wraps, on and on. It’s also packed with vitamin C, vitamin A, folate, and heart-healthy phenolic acids.
Get it here:
Asparagus
Asparagus is an incredibly delicious fiber food with roughly three grams of fiber a cup. It’s also super healthy with vitamins A, C, E, K, folate, potassium, calcium, and tons of phytonutrients.
According to one report, it’s an “anti-cancer, anti-tumor, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, hypoglycemic, anti-hypertensive and anti-epileptic” plant.
Great in soups, salads, casseroles, vegan pasta dishes, crudite, and hors d’oeuvres. 😋
Here’s a list:
Kale
Raw organic kale is one of the most nutrient-dense greens on earth! It rocks roughly three grams of fiber a cup. It’s also packed with vitamins A, C, E, and K, calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, phosphorous, folate, and zinc.
On top of that it sports the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which help offset disease.
“Kale is one of the more effective bile acid-binding vegetables, which may play a role in lowering the risk of premature degenerative diseases,” says Dr. Michael Greger. “Chopping it and then waiting at least 40 minutes before cooking it or mixing some mustard powder to cooked kale helps produce the anti-cancer nutrient, sulforaphane.”
It’s also good to eat kale raw because both sulforaphane and chlorophyll are heat sensitive. Toss it into soups, salads, smoothies, casseroles, pesto, stews, and more.
Get it here 👇
Beetroot
Beets and beetroot greens are immensely healthy, as I’m sure you’ve heard, and they’re also a high-fiber veggie with over three grams of fiber a cup.
They’re packed with nutrients including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and anthocyanin, a powerhouse that lowers blood pressure and curbs disease. Not to mention, the nitric oxide in beets boosts blood flow and athletic performance.
Great in soups, salads, smoothies, casseroles, hummus, sandwiches, vegan sides.
Get it here:
Brussels Sprouts
With roughly four grams of fiber a cup, Brussels sprouts pack more soluble fiber than any other vegetable. They’re immensely healthy!
They also curb cancer risk, says Dr. Michael Greger, who notes that “if you were to add only one thing to your diet, consider cruciferous vegetables. Less than a single serving a day of broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, or kale may cut the risk of cancer progression by more than half.”
They reduce your waistline, too, along with inflammation, insulin resistance, and oxidative stress—and all while boosting vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and boatloads of short-chain fatty acids that nourish your gut.
What’s more, they’re incredibly delicious in recipes like pasta dishes, vegan soba fries, homemade Brussels sprouts soup. 😋
Tap resources here:
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a high-fiber vegetable with roughly three grams of fiber a cup. It’s also one of the healthiest due to the fact that it’s a cruciferous powerhouse.
Packed with vitamins C, K, B6, and tons of antioxidants, it rocks sulforaphane, chlorophyll, glucosinolates, isothiocyanates, and folic acid.
Great in soups, salads, casseroles, pizza dough, appetizer platters, Indian pakoras—YUM. 😋
Get it here:
Collard Greens
As one of the highest-fiber vegetables ever, collards rock about eight grams of both soluble and insoluble fiber a cup. They’re also among earth’s healthiest foods with vitamins A, C, and K, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, folate, calcium, and more.
One report notes that “Collard greens and other cruciferous vegetables . . . can potentially prevent DNA damage and metastatic cancer spread, activate defenses against pathogens and pollutants, help to prevent lymphoma, boost your liver detox enzymes, target breast cancer stem cells, and reduce the risk of prostate cancer progression.”
Which says a lot—clearly—because again, cruciferous vegetables are rich.
Collards rock in soups, salads, stews, casseroles, pasta, vegan lettuce wraps, and more.
Get it here:
Carrots
Carrots are a go-to for fiber with about 4.6 grams a cup. They’re packed with vitamins A, B, C, E, and K, potassium, magnesium, phosphorous, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, and more.
They’re also chock-full of antioxidants and bioactive compounds, including lycopene, lutein, carotenoids, polyacetylenes, and anthocyanins—the latter found mostly in colorful rainbow carrots.
According to one report, carrots have “antidiabetic, cholesterol & cardiac disease reducing, antihypertensive, hepatoprotective, renoprotective, & wound healing properties,” and that’s not all. They’re highly beneficial for eye-health, gut-health, heart-health, and the brain.
I typically juice them, cook them, and eat them raw, in salads, carrot cake, vegan wraps, soups, stews, muffins, and more. 😋 👇
Tap resources here:
Sweet Potatoes
Yams and sweet potatoes have over four grams of dietary fiber a cup. They’re tapped heavily in the blue zones and rock in muffins, breads, pies, soups, sweet potato fries, and more.
They’re also rich in vitamins, minerals, and bioactive compounds, including polyphenols, terpenoids, saponins, tannins, alkaloids, glycosides, and phytosterols.
One report notes that “Sweet potatoes are among the healthiest common whole-food sources of potassium, which every cell in our body requires to function. In fact, they can be considered a superfood and are ranked as one of the healthiest foods on the entire planet.”
Tap resources here:
Other fibrous veggies include mushrooms, broccoli, chard, acorn squash, peppers, kohlrabi, and turnip greens. You’ll never go wrong with the whole slew of cruciferous vegetables!
For the best high-fiber fruits go here. For a list of general high-fiber foods go here. 💚 🌱
Keep Reading (and cooking) 📚
The medical and health topics covered on the Plate of Grass website and blog have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to prevent or cure any disease. This article and its content is presented ‘as is’ for informational purposes only.
