3 Tips for sneaking fiber into your breakfast

Start each day with a whole grain breakfast cereal

Whole grains are grains that have not been refined. This means that they still contain all parts of the grain: bran, germ and endosperm. When grains are refined, this process removes not only a good deal of vitamins and minerals, but also the dietary fiber. This fiber is essential to our overall health. Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD, director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, says, "When people think fiber, they think gut -- it is just having an effect on the lower part of my body. But now it is very exciting to realize that fiber is having an effect in the upper body, too. Fiber is a head-to-toe body benefit. People need it."

Choosing a whole grain breakfast cereal is a great day to kick off your day with a head start on your fiber count. Cooked oatmeal, brown rice, barley or wheat berries are excellent choices, but even many packaged cereals like Cheerios, Wheat Chex, Shredded Wheat and Kashi Muesli have high fiber content. Check the labels of your cereal to determine how much fiber you are getting per serving.

Skip the juice and eat your fruit

Most juices have removed the fiber from the fruit in the juicing process. Of course there are still plenty of healthy vitamins and minerals in your juice, but if you are counting calories the best way to increase your fiber content is to ditch the juice and eat whole fruits. There are lots of delicious fruits that have great fiber content such as raspberries, blackberries, pears, figs, apples, bananas, guava, oranges, peaches, nectarines, coconut and grapefruit. Make sure to buy organic so you can leave the peel on those apples, pears, peaches and nectarines to get the benefit of all the fiber and nutrients your fruit has to offer.

Swap out your refined grains for whole grains

Do you like to eat pancakes, waffles or toast in the mornings? Don't worry. You don't have to miss out on all your favorite foods. Just swap out your refined white flour for whole wheat and you will increase your fiber content exponentially. Or get creative and try some other flours. Buckwheat, oat, rye, amaranth, quinoa…the possibilities are endless! When choosing packaged whole grain breads, make sure to check the fiber content to make sure the product lives up to its name. A good whole grain bread should have at least 2 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.

More on the benefits of fiber

• What is fiber and how does it work?
• How eating fiber can help you maintain our weight
• 8 Health benefits of fiber