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I'm trying to maintain a high-fibre diet, and I understand that snacking on nuts regularly is a good way to do this. At the moment, I tend to snack on Brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts, and pecan nuts. Do some nuts have a higher fibre percentage than others? Which are the best for a high-fibre diet?

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    "best" is subjective, this question would be improved if you wrote some criteria for evaluating the different nuts (highest fiber percentage, ratio of fiber to calories, etc)
    – Zaralynda
    Apr 4, 2015 at 12:53

2 Answers 2

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Nuts and legumes are an excellent source of fiber.1 2 If you're looking for the highest fiber content, here are the top candidates ranked by total grams of fiber (insoluble and soluble) per ounce3:

Almonds: 2 g/oz

Lentils (dried): 1.95 g/oz

Pine nuts: 1.8 g/oz

Pistachios: 1.7 g/oz

Peanuts: 1.7 g/oz

Beans (lima, kidney, soy etc.) 1.2 - 1.7 g/oz

Pecans: 1 g/oz

Walnuts: 0.7 g/oz

A "mixed nut" product that includes almonds, peanuts, pecans, and walnuts would be a great way to get an assortment of the highest-fiber nuts (plus a lot of other great nutrients and healthy fats).

Grains such as amaranth and barley are also good sources, as are sunflower seeds. Many fruits (apples, pears, coconut, bananas, strawberries, raspberries) are high in fiber as well.

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As already pointed out, nuts and legumes make very good snacks. My only caution with the nuts is that they are also very calorie dense, so to have a filling snack you may add more calories than you would want. You can combine them with fruit, yogurt or other similar foods to make a healthy snack that isn't as high in calories per serving.

If you want to maintain a high fiber diet, there are many alternatives that you can mix in either as snacks or as meal focuses:

As a comparison, 1 cup of almonds has 11 grams of fiber, 526 calories.

  • Raspberries - 8 grams per cup, 65 calories.
  • Avocados - (1/2 avocado) - 7 grams, 160 calories
  • Blackberries - same as Raspberries
  • Pears - 4 grams, 80 calories per cup.
  • Split peas - 16 grams per cup (cooked), 231 calories

Other things you can do include:

  • Add a tablespoon of ground flaxseed to smoothies or similar - nearly 4 grams of fiber and about 30 calories. (Also adds Omega-3 fatty acids)
  • Chia seeds - 5.5 grams per tablespoon, 65 calories

https://fullplateliving.org/high-fiber-foods/list

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/high-fiber-foods/art-20050948

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flax#Flax_seeds

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