When you think of a high-fiber diet, weight management and preventing constipation are probably the first things that come to mind. And while it’s true that fiber can help with both, this diet has other benefits to offer!

To begin with, adding more fiber to your diet can aid in lower "bad" LDL cholesterol, which in turn helps reduce your risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, and diabetes.^1,2,3

Ready to make fiber a regular part of your routine? Here’s a list of ingredients and recipes to get you started!

How Much Fiber Do You Need?

According to the Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes (PDRI), a 20 to 25 gram daily dose of dietary fiber is recommended for Filipino adults aged 19 years old and above.⁴

Fiber-Rich Foods to Add to Your Heart-Healthy Diet

Surprisingly, despite rice being a staple in the diet, Filipinos consume only about half of the recommended daily fiber intake.⁵ Looking for high-fiber low-calorie foods to include in your daily routine? Here are a few options:⁶

Main Meals⁶

• Bran or whole-grain cereals
• Beans (lentils, pinto, black, red, or kidney beans)
• Peanut butter and other nut butter
• Vegetable-based soups (e.g., lentil or split pea)
• Whole-grain cereals (e.g., oatmeal, shredded wheat)
• Whole-wheat bread and pasta for carbohydrates

Fruits and Vegetables⁶

• Apples
• Berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries)
• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage)
• Corn
• Dried fruits (apricots, dates, prunes, raisins)
• Leafy greens (spinach, lettuce, kale, collard greens)
• Potatoes with skins, sweet potatoes, and yams

Snacks⁶

• Nuts like pistachios and almonds
• Chia seeds, flaxseeds
• Bran snack bars
• Granola
• Pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• Popcorn
• Homemade trail mix

Fiber-Packed Filipino Recipes

Now that you’ve got a list of fiber-packed ingredients, it’s time to use them! Why not start incorporating them into your favorite Filipino dishes? Here are three classic recipes to try:⁷

Lumpiang Sariwa⁷

Ingredients:

Lumpia Roll

• 1⁄2 cup ground chicken or lean pork
• 1⁄2 cup shrimp, cleaned and deveined
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1⁄2 cup cabbage, julienned
• 1⁄2 cup green beans, julienned
• 1⁄2 cup carrots, julienned
• 1⁄4 cup celery, julienned
• 1⁄4 cup jicama, julienned (may substitute chestnuts)
• 1⁄2 cup chicken broth
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 Vietnamese spring-roll wrappers or lumpia wrappers
• 8 pieces red leaf lettuce
• 1⁄3 cup peanuts, dry, roasted, and chopped

Sauce

• 1 cup broth from the sautéd vegetables
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water for mixing cornstarch

Cooking Directions

To make the lumpia roll, saute ground meat, shrimp, and garlic in oil, then add vegetables and cook until slightly crisp. Pour in chicken broth, season with salt and pepper, and drain. Save the broth for the lumpia sauce. Then, soak Vietnamese spring roll wrappers in water until soft. Place lettuce and 2 tablespoons of the vegetable mixture on the wrapper, fold and roll tightly.

For the sauce, combine vegetable broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and garlic in a pot, then bring to a boil. In a separate bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Slowly add the cornstarch mixture to the boiling broth, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.

Lastly, serve the folded lumpia rolls with the sauce on top then sprinkle with chopped peanuts.

Munggo Guisado⁷

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon corn oil
• 2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed (or 1 tablespoon, minced)
• 1 cup white onions, chopped
• 1 cup ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup (4 ounces) lean pork, thinly sliced
• 4 cups water
• 31⁄2 cups precooked mung beans ( 1 3⁄4 cups dry beans)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup (about 2⁄3 of a 10-ounce package) leaf spinach, frozen

Cooking Directions

To cook mung beans, wash and boil in 6 cups of water for 1.5 to 2 hours until tender, then drain.

In a skillet, heat oil and sauté garlic until golden, then add onion and tomatoes until the skin curls. Add pork and brown lightly, then add water and simmer for 15 minutes. Combine with mung beans and simmer for another 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then add shrimp and spinach. Cook for 4 more minutes until done.

Vegetable Kare-Kare (Peanut Stew)⁷

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons corn oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 onion, medium, sliced
• 1⁄2 cup peanut butter
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup eggplant, sliced
• 1⁄2 cup string beans, sliced
• 2⁄3 cup banana heart or bud
• 1⁄2 cup bok choy (pechay), sliced

Cooking Directions

Sauté garlic and onions in oil until fragrant. Then, stir in the peanut butter to thicken the sauce. Add water, followed by eggplant, string beans, banana, and bok choy (pechay). Let everything cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Fiber Rich Beverage

For a fiber-enriched beverage to complement these recipes, consider Glucopro^®!

Glucopro^® is a dietary fiber supplement with RMD (resistant maltodextrin).8 Together with proper diet and healthy lifestyle, taking a daily dose of a supplement with RMD(resistant maltodextrin) may help:

• Improve gut health by:
  • Stimulating production of a prebiotic in the form of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)⁹
  • Increasing the number of good bacteria in the gut¹⁰
  • Promoting intestinal regularity¹¹
• Assist with healthy weight management by:
  • Promoting intestinal regularity¹¹
  • Decreasing visceral fat¹²
• Manage blood sugar spikes after meals¹³

Taking a total of three Glucopro^® sachets daily provides 16.2g of fiber, which can help you meet the daily dietary fiber requirements of 20 to 25 grams for Filipino adults 19 years old and above, as highlighted in the Philippine Dietary Reference Intakes(PDRI).⁴ Dissolve each sachet in a 250 mL glass of water and consume immediately with your meals.⁸

Glucopro^® is available online and in leading drugstores nationwide, and on Lazada and Shopee at a suggested retail price (SRP) of Php32.00 per sachet.

Use Glucopro^® under medical supervision.

It is always best to consult your doctor prior to taking any form of supplements.