Fiber Cereal

February 21st, 2008

I never would have guessed it 10 years ago, but i love me some high fiber cereal. Don’t get me wrong, bacon is still king, but 4-5 times a week i have the following breakfast: Non-fat Yogurt, high-fiber cereal, and dried fruit (I prefer Trader Joe’s dried berry medley of blueberries, strawberries, and cherries). No really, it tastes great .. and gives me energy all morning.

Here’s some cereals i considered (popular fiber and ones i buy), ranked by percent fiber, grams per serving [grams protein]

  1. 50% fiber – 13g per 26g (1/2 cup) [3g] All-Bran w/ extra fiber
  2. 47% fiber – 14g per 30g (1/2 cup) [2g] Fiber One
  3. 43% fiber – 12.9g per 30g (1/3 cup) [2g] Bran Buds
  4. 41% fiber – 13g per 32g (2/3 cup) [3g] Organic Smart Bran
  5. 19% fiber – 10g per 52g (1 cup) [13g] Kashi GoLean
  6. 18% fiber – 10g per 55g (1 cup) [8g] Optimum Power
  7. 13% fiber 7.7g per 59g (1 cup) [4.7g] Post Raisin Bran
  8. 9% fiber – 5g per 58g (1cup) [6g] Grape Nuts

As you noticed, i slipped in grams of protein, too, cuz, that sorta matters. Other things matter too, such as organic/health ingredients. Thats why i eat Smart Bran by Nature’s Path. I just don’t trust those big companies .. i mean, really General Mills, who wants aspartame, aka sweet-n-low, in their fiber one? More Fiber Cereals by CNN.

Why high-fiber? Initially I did it cuz i had a great uncle that had colon cancer. But as it turns out, those old studies were .. not accurate. Recent studies show no link between fiber-diet and colon cancer (src), but maybe (src). However, high-fiber diet is great for many other things – for lowering cholersterol (which my family also has high amounts of), preventing heart disease, preventing type 2 diabetes, and relieving constipation. On average, males age 14-50 need 38g of fiber a day, females 9-50 need 25g per day (src).

So what other foods have high fiber? apples, prunes, dark green vegies like broccoli, spinach, and … beans – the big winner. But during my research, i found some disparity in how much fiber was in, say, baked beans. For example, here’s a list of grams of fiber per 1 cup baked beans:

Toot-Toot!!