High Fibre Indian Foods for Healthy Heart

To put it simply, fibre is the complex carbohydrate present in foods, which is not digestible by our body. However, it forms an essential part of our daily diet, as it has more than one function contributing to a healthy living style.

A High Fiber diet satiates you for a longer time and helps to prevent raised blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels, thus defending your body against risks to heart disease. Considering these benefits of fibre, you should include 15 to 25 grams of fibre in your daily diet.

Top 7 ways to increase Fibre for a Healthy Heart

1.Choose a breakfast containing high fibre cereals like bulgur wheat, oats, Apples, Green Peas etc. Try Bulgur Wheat Pancakes. These are quick to make and full of flavours.

Bulgur Wheat Pancakes

2.Snack on fruits like Orange, Grapefruit, Peaches, Guava etc. in between meals as their high fibre content will satiate you for longer hours and help to control the blood cholesterol levels too. Include them in the form of Healthy Guava Snack or Mixed Fruit Chaat.

Mixed Fruit Chaat, Diabetic Friendly Recipe

3.Have plenty of vegetables, especially raw vegetables in the form of salads and raitas. Do not peel vegetables and fruits like Cucumber, Carrots, Apples etc. as their peels are edible and much of the fibre lies just beneath the peels. Do remember to wash them thoroughly though, or scrape the peels slightly before eating. Benefit from the high fiber of Minty Apple Salad. A serving yields 4 g of fiber.

Minty Apple Salad

4.Choose whole-wheat flour chapatis, oats roti or jowar and bajra roti as compared to refined flour products like white bread, pastas, biscuits etc. as bran (outer covering of wheat which abounds in fibre) is lost with the processing of these foods.

Add some veggies to these flours and make a nourishing Indian bread – Oats Roti.

Oats Roti, Ibs Recipe

5.Try to use the bran of cereals like wheat in your regular meals. It can easily be incorporated. Adding 1 tablespoon of bran in the chapati dough or in the vegetable dishes will provide plenty of fibre.

Check the recipe of Pyaz ki Roti. Bran is also a good thickening agent and can add low calorie bulk to soups, gravies etc. Bran is easily available at most health food stores and larger grocery stores.

Pyaz ki Roti

6.Make Fibre-Rich pulses like moong, rajma, matki a part of your daily diet. Sprouting the pulses adds on to their fibre content.

With a bit of culinary creativity, you can add sprouts to your diet. We suggest Sprouts Dhokla.

Sprouts Dhokla

7.Add healthy seeds like flax seeds or sunflower seeds daily to your diet which do wonders for your heart as they abound in Omega 3 Fatty Acids. These seeds reduce inflammation in the body and prevent the onset of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer. Roast them and eat them as a mouth freshener.

Learn How to Roast Pumpkin Seeds and How to Roast Flax Seeds.

How To Roast Pumpkin Seeds, Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

	7 Ways to increase Fiber intake for a Healthy Heart
1.	Choose a breakfast containing high fibre cereals like bulgur wheat, oats, Apples, Green Peas etc.
2.	Snack on fruits like Orange, Grapefruit, Peaches etc. in between meals as their high fibre content will satiate you for longer hours and help to control the blood cholesterol levels too.
3.	Have plenty of vegetables, especially raw vegetables in the form of salads and raitas. Do not peel vegetables and fruits like Cucumber, Carrots, Chickoo. Apples etc. as their peels are edible and much of the fibre lies just beneath the peels. Do remember to wash them thoroughly though, or scrape the peels slightly before eating.
4.	Choose whole-wheat flour chapatis, Brown Bread, whole-wheat noodles as compared to refined flour products like white bread, pastas, biscuits etc. as bran (outer covering of wheat which abounds in fibre) is lost with the processing of these foods.
5.	Try to use the bran of cereals like wheat, oats and rice in your regular meals. Adding 1 tablespoon of bran in the chapati dough or in the vegetable dishes will provide plenty of fibre. Bran is also a good thickening agent and can add low calorie bulk to soups, gravies etc. Bran is easily available at most health food stores and larger grocery stores.
6.	Make Fibre-Rich pulses like moong, rajma, matki a part of your daily diet. Sprouting the pulses adds on to their fibre content.
7.	Add healthy seeds like flax seeds or sunflower seeds daily to your diet which do wonders for your heart as they abound in Omega 3 Fatty Acids.