Learn how to lower your fibre intake to help manage a medical condition or digestive symptoms, if recommended by your health care provider.
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Overview
Most adults should aim for 21 to 38 grams (g) of fibre per day. A low fibre eating pattern limits foods that contain fibre. Generally, it means eating less than 15 g of fibre per day. This amount can change depending on your medical condition or symptoms. This is usually temporary.
Lowering your fibre intake
Fibre is found in vegetables, fruits, whole grain foods, nuts, seeds, beans, peas and lentils. Animal foods such as meat, poultry, seafood, eggs and milk products do not have fibre. When lowering your fibre intake:
- Choose foods with less than 2 g of fibre per serving. Use the lists below as a guide
- Remove skins, seeds and membranes of all fruits and vegetables. Avoid dried fruit
- If you drink juice, choose juices with no pulp
- Eat slowly and chew your food well. While this will not lower fibre content, it may help reduce digestive symptoms
- You may tolerate canned and cooked vegetables and fruits better than raw
Reintroducing more fibre
When you’re able to eat more fibre, start slowly. Add small amounts of higher fibre foods back to your meals and snacks throughout the day. Gradually increase the fibre in your diet based on how you feel. This may help to limit gas, cramping and discomfort. To slowly increase your fibre intake, consider the following tips:
- Choose breakfast cereals with about 2 to 4 grams of fibre per serving
- Top salads, breakfast cereals and yogurt with fruit like blueberries or strawberries
- Add vegetables like carrots, broccoli and potatoes to soups
- Grab a handful (60 mL or ¼ cup) of nuts like walnuts, peanuts or almonds as a quick snack
- Replace white rice and white pasta with higher fibre options like brown rice, whole-wheat pasta or barley. Start by replacing half of your serving
- Substitute at least half of the white flour with whole-wheat flour when baking
As you add more fibre in your diet, remember to drink plenty of fluids to help keep your bowel movements soft. Make water your drink of choice.
Amount of fibre in foods
Use the tables below to find out how much fibre a food contains. You can also use the Canadian Nutrient File to search a specific food.
Chopping or blending does not change the amount of fibre in food.
For packaged foods, check the nutrition facts table for fibre. The % daily value (% DV) will tell you if a packaged food has a little or a lot of fibre in a serving. 5% DV or less is a little and 15% DV or more is a lot.
Low source of fibre (less than 2 g)
Vegetables
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Mushroom, white, brown, raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.2 - 0.5 |
| Cucumber, peeled, raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.4 |
| Bok choy, boiled or raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.4 - 0.9 |
| Celery, raw | 1 medium stalk | 0.6 |
| Bamboo shoots, boiled or canned | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.6 - 1.0 |
| Lettuce (spring mix) or spinach, raw | 250 mL (1 cup) | 0.6 - 0.7 |
| Pepper, sweet, yellow, red or green, raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.7 - 1.1 |
| Squash (summer all varieties) or eggplant boiled | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.3 |
| Onion, raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.4 |
| Cauliflower, boiled | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.5 |
| Tomato, red, raw | 1 medium | 1.5 |
| Beans, snap, yellow or green, boiled | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.6 |
| Potato, mashed | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.7 |
| Asparagus, boiled | 6 spears | 1.8 |
Fruit
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Watermelon | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.3 |
| Cantaloupe or honeydew melon, cubes | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 0.6 - 0.7 |
| Grapes, red or green | 20 grapes | 1.2 |
| Pineapple, raw | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.2 |
| Applesauce or fruit cocktail, unsweetened | 125 mL (1/2 cup) | 1.3 - 1.9 |
| Tangerine (mandarin) orange | 1 medium | 1.6 |
| Mango | 1/2 fruit | 1.7 |
Grains
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Cream of rice or wheat cereal, plain, cooked | 175 mL (¾ cup) | 0.2 to 0.7 |
| Rice, long-grain, white, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 0.4 |
| Pancake or waffle, plain, white flour | 1 pancake or waffle (10 cm diameter) | 0.4 - 0.8 |
| Puffed rice, cereal | 30g (500mL or 2 cups) | 0.5 - 0.8 |
| Couscous, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 0.7 |
| Pita or bagel, white | 1/2 pita or bagel | 0.7 - 0.8 |
| Pasta, white, egg or rice noodles, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 0.7 - 1.3 |
| Crackers, saltine | 10 crackers | 0.8 - 0.9 |
| Corn flakes, cereal | 30g (250 mL or 1 cup) | 0.9 - 2.0 |
| English muffin, white flour | ½ muffin (30 g) | 1.0 |
| Tortilla, white flour | 1 tortilla (30 g) | 1.1 |
| Bread, white flour, rye | 1 slice (35 g) | 1.2 to 1.4 |
Protein foods*
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Tofu, regular | 150 g (175mL or ¾ cup) | 0.4 - 0.6 |
| Soy beverage | 250 mL (1 cup) | 0.5 - 1.3 |
| Cashews | 60 mL (¼ cup) | 1.1 |
*Animal-based protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk products do not contain fibre.
Moderate source of fibre (2 g to 3.9 g)
Vegetables
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Potato, russet, baked with skin | ½ medium | 2.0 |
| Broccoli or carrots (slices), boiled | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.0 - 2.2 |
| Sweet potato, with skin, raw (cubes) | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.1 |
| Corn, niblets, canned | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.3 |
| Squash, winter all varieties, baked (cubes) | 125 mL (½ cup) | 3.0 |
| Brussel sprouts, boiled | 4 sprouts | 3.1 |
| Artichoke, canned | 125 mL (½ cup) | 3.6 |
Fruit
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Strawberry or blueberry, raw | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.0 |
| Apple, peeled | 1 medium | 2.1 |
| Banana | 1 medium | 2.1 |
| Prune, dried, uncooked | 3 prunes | 2.1 |
| Grapefruit, pink or red or papaya | 1/2 fruit | 2.3 - 2.6 |
| Orange | 1 medium | 2.3 |
| Kiwi | 1 large | 2.7 |
| Fig, raw | 2 medium | 2.9 |
Grain foods
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Rice, brown or wild, long-grain, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 1.5 - 1.6 |
| Barley, pearled, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.0 |
| Pasta, whole-wheat, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.1 - 2.4 |
| Bread, whole-wheat | 1 slice (35 g) | 2.2 |
| Pita, whole-wheat | 1/2 pita (30 g) | 2.4 |
| Quinoa, amaranth, bulgur or millet, cooked | 125 mL (½ cup) | 2.7 |
| Oats, hot cereal, regular, instant, cooked | 175 mL (¾ cup) | 3.5 |
Protein foods*
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Walnuts | 60 mL (¼ cup) | 2.0 |
| Peanut butter, natural | 30 mL (2 Tbsp) | 2.5 |
| Flaxseeds, whole or ground | 15 mL (1 Tbsp) | 2.9 |
| Peanuts, dry roasted | 60 mL (¼ cup) | 3.1 |
| Almond butter, natural | 30 mL (2 Tbsp) | 3.3 |
| Chia seeds | 15 mL (1 Tbsp) | 3.7 |
| Almonds, dry roasted | 60 mL (¼ cup) | 3.8 |
*Animal-based protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk products do not contain fibre.
High source of fibre (4 g or more)
Vegetables
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Collards, boiled | 125 mL (½ cup) | 4.0 |
| Peas, green, boiled | 125 mL (½ cup) | 5.6 |
Fruit
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Blackberry or raspberry, raw | 125 mL (½ cup) | 4.0 - 4.2 |
| Apple or pear, raw with skin | 1 medium | 4.0 - 5.3 |
| Pomegranate, raw | ½ fruit | 5.6 |
| Avocado, raw | ½ fruit | 6.7 |
Grain foods
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Bread, sprouted grain | 1 slice (35 g) | 3.3 - 4.5 |
| Shredded Wheat | 30 g (160 mL or ⅔ cup) | 3.9 |
| All bran cereal (any kind) | 30 g (125 mL or ½ cup) | 9.7 |
Protein foods
| Food | Serving size | Amount of fibre (g) |
|---|---|---|
| Split peas, cooked | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 4.2 |
| Lentils or garbanzo beans (chickpeas), cooked | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 5.5 |
| Edamame (green soy beans), cooked | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 6.0 |
| Hummus, store-bought | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 7.0 - 11.0 |
| Kidney beans, dark red, cooked | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 8.4 |
| Black beans, cooked | 175 mL or ¾ cup | 10.1 |
*Animal-based protein foods such as meat, fish, poultry, eggs and milk products do not contain fibre.
g = gram, mL = milliliter, cm = centimeter, Source: Canadian Nutrient File
