Best High-Fiber Snacks: What to Look For

Best High-Fiber Snacks: What to Look For and Why Fiber Matters

banana with orange background low sugars and carbs

Fiber has never had the marketing department that protein has.

Protein gets giant numbers on wrappers, shaker bottles the size of fire extinguishers, and approximately nine billion gym-related Instagram posts.

Fiber mostly just quietly shows up to work.

But if you're looking for a snack that does more than keep your mouth occupied until dinner, fiber is worth paying attention to.

Dietary fiber is an important part of a healthy diet, yet most Americans don't get enough of it. The National Institutes of Health notes that fiber is associated with benefits including digestive, metabolic and cardiovascular health—and that different types of fiber can affect the body in different ways.

So what are the best high-fiber snacks, how much fiber should you actually be eating, and what should you look for when you're standing in the snack aisle staring down 147 different bars?

Let's get into it.

What Is Dietary Fiber?

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate found primarily in plant foods that your body doesn't digest in the same way it digests sugars and starches.

Instead of being completely broken down and absorbed, fiber travels through the digestive system and performs a variety of jobs along the way.

The National Institutes of Health broadly divides dietary fiber into two categories:

Soluble fiber, which dissolves or mixes with water
Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water

Most naturally fiber-containing foods contain some combination of the two.

That's one reason eating a variety of whole plant foods is useful.

Different foods bring different kinds of fiber to the party.

Soluble vs. Insoluble Fiber: What's the Difference?

Not all fiber behaves the same way.

Soluble Fiber

Soluble fiber mixes with water and can form a gel-like substance during digestion.

According to the NIH, soluble fibers can slow digestion and are associated with benefits including cholesterol management and blood-sugar regulation.

Foods containing soluble fiber include:

Oats
Beans
Peas
Many fruits
Some seeds
Certain vegetables

Oats are particularly interesting because they naturally contain beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that lowers blood cholesterol, stabilizes blood sugar, and supports the immune system

Insoluble Fiber

Insoluble fiber doesn't dissolve in water.

Instead, it adds bulk and helps food and waste move through the digestive system.

The NIH identifies foods such as whole grains and certain vegetables as sources of insoluble fiber, while nuts and seeds can also contribute this type of fiber.

You don't necessarily need to choose one team or the other.

Many whole foods contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, which is another good argument for getting fiber from a variety of foods rather than obsessing over a single isolated ingredient.

Why Is Fiber Important?

Fiber does a surprising amount of work for something your body doesn't completely digest.

Research summarized by the National Library of Medicine associates dietary fiber with several areas of health, including:

Digestive health
Satiety and fullness
Blood-glucose regulation
Cholesterol metabolism
Cardiovascular health
The gut microbiome

Different kinds of fiber can produce different effects, which is why the NIH cautions that fiber's benefits depend partly on the type, amount and individual consuming it.

In other words:

Fiber isn't one magical substance.

It's a whole family of plant-based carbohydrates doing different jobs.

How Much Fiber Should You Eat Per Day?

The FDA currently sets the Daily Value for dietary fiber at 28 grams per day based on a 2,000-calorie diet. (FDA — How to Understand and Use the Nutrition Facts Label)

Individual needs can vary.

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases notes that adult recommendations generally range from about 22 to 34 grams per day, depending on age and sex.

And plenty of Americans aren't getting there.

The NIH has reported that only a small percentage of Americans consume recommended amounts of fiber. (NIH — Health Benefits of Dietary Fibers Vary)

That makes snacks a pretty convenient place to sneak—or more accurately, deliberately place—a few extra grams into your day.

What Counts as a High-Fiber Snack?

Here's where food-label terminology matters.

According to the FDA's guidance on Daily Value:

5% DV or less is considered low
20% DV or more is considered high

The Daily Value for dietary fiber is 28 grams, so 20% works out to approximately 5.6 grams of fiber per serving.

FDA regulations also generally allow a food to be described as a “good source” of a nutrient when it contains 10–19% of the Daily Value, while “high,” “rich in” or “excellent source” generally require at least 20% DV. (FDA — Nutrient Content Claims)

So when you're comparing fiber bars or packaged snacks, don't just look for a giant FIBER! on the front.

Flip it over.

The Nutrition Facts panel will tell you what's actually going on.

What Are the Best High-Fiber Snacks?

You don't need some exotic powdered root harvested during a full moon to eat more fiber.

Plenty of ordinary foods do the job quite well.

1. Oats and Whole-Grain Snacks

Oatmeal, overnight oats and snacks made from whole oats can be an easy way to add fiber.

Oats contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, including soluble beta-glucan.

They're also incredibly versatile, which is probably why humans have been eating them considerably longer than we've been putting lightning bolts on energy-bar wrappers.

2. Nuts

Almonds, peanuts, pecans, walnuts and other nuts contain dietary fiber along with naturally occurring fats, protein and other nutrients.

The NIDDK lists nuts such as almonds, peanuts and pecans among good dietary sources of fiber .

A handful makes an easy snack.

Putting them in a bar makes them considerably easier to eat while skiing.

3. Seeds

Chia seeds, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds can all contribute fiber.

Seeds are especially useful because they bring other nutrients and naturally occurring fats along with the fiber.

They're small.

They are mighty.

They also have an impressive ability to occupy every corner of a kitchen floor once somebody spills a bag.

4. Fruit

Fruit naturally contains dietary fiber.

The NIDDK recommends fruits such as berries, apples, oranges and pears as fiber-containing foods.

Dried fruits—including dates and raisins—also contain fiber and have the distinct advantage of not getting pulverized when you forget they're at the bottom of your backpack.

5. Beans and Legumes

Lentils, chickpeas, black beans and other legumes are some of the most fiber-dense foods around.

The NIDDK specifically lists lentils, black beans, kidney beans, soybeans and chickpeas among good sources of dietary fiber. (NIDDK)

They may not be everybody's first choice halfway through a bike ride.

But in normal civilized circumstances, they're excellent fiber sources.

6. Vegetables

Broccoli, carrots, peas and many other vegetables contribute fiber along with vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds.

Pair raw vegetables with hummus and you've got fiber coming from both the vegetables and chickpeas.

7. Fiber-Rich Snack Bars

A well-made snack bar can be one of the easiest ways to get fiber when portability matters.

But this category requires a little label reading.

Some fiber bars rely primarily on isolated added fibers.

Others get much of their fiber from foods that naturally contain it—such as oats, dates, nuts, seeds and fruit.

Neither approach is automatically good or bad, but they aren't necessarily nutritionally identical.

Which brings us to an important question.

Is Fiber From Whole Foods Better Than Added Fiber?

Added fiber isn't automatically a bad thing.

Certain isolated or functional fibers have demonstrated health benefits and can help people increase total fiber intake.

But different fibers behave differently.

An NIH-funded study comparing several fiber supplements found that different types produced different effects—and responses also varied from person to person.

That's why looking beyond the total grams of fiber can be useful.

A snack made from oats, dates, nuts and seeds isn't just delivering fiber.

Those ingredients also bring along other naturally occurring nutrients.

That's one reason we prefer the whole-food route.

Fiber and Feeling Full

Ever eat a snack and somehow emerge from the experience hungrier than when you started?

Not ideal.

Fiber can contribute to satiety, or the feeling of fullness after eating.

A recent clinical review available through the National Library of Medicine notes that fiber can influence satiety, although the degree of that effect varies by fiber type and other characteristics of the food.

That's another reason the whole composition of a snack matters.

A bar containing fiber alongside nuts, seeds, carbohydrates and naturally occurring fats is a very different food from something composed almost entirely of quickly digested refined carbohydrates.

Fiber doesn't have to carry the whole wagon.

Fiber and Digestive Health

This is probably fiber's best-known job.

The NIDDK recommends getting adequate fiber as part of preventing and treating constipation.

Insoluble fiber helps increase stool bulk, while certain soluble fibers interact with water and the gut microbiome in different ways.

One important note: going from very little fiber to a whole bunch of it overnight isn't necessarily a brilliant strategy.

NIDDK recommends increasing fiber gradually and drinking enough liquids to help fiber work properly.

Your digestive system appreciates a heads-up.

Fiber and the Gut Microbiome

Here's where things get particularly interesting.

Some fibers can be fermented by bacteria living in the gut.

Those microorganisms collectively make up part of your gut microbiome, which researchers are increasingly studying for its relationship with digestive and overall health.

The NIH explains that certain soluble fibers interact with gut microbes, and different fibers can have different effects on those microbial communities.

This doesn't mean every food containing fiber should be marketed as some miracle “gut health” cure.

It does mean eating a variety of fiber-containing plant foods gives those trillions of tiny dinner guests something to work with.

How to Choose a Fiber-Rich Snack Bar

Standing in the snack aisle?

Here's what we'd look at.

Check the Fiber Per Serving

Turn the package around and look at both grams of dietary fiber and % Daily Value.

That tells you considerably more than whatever adjective is printed in giant letters on the front.

Read the Ingredient List

Ask where the fiber is coming from.

Do you see foods like:

Oats
Dates
Nuts
Seeds
Fruit
Whole grains

Or is virtually all of the fiber coming from one isolated ingredient?

Again, neither is inherently wrong.

It's just useful to know what you're buying.

Look at the Whole Nutrition Profile

Fiber doesn't magically erase everything else.

Look at:

Added sugars
Sodium
Saturated fat
Protein
Serving size
Ingredients

A good snack should make sense as a whole food—not just win one category.

Choose Something You'll Actually Eat

The world's theoretically perfect snack does you precisely zero good sitting untouched in the cupboard.

Taste matters.

Convenience matters.

Portability matters.

Turns out humans are more likely to eat food they enjoy.

Science is wild.

Two people on a boat with a scenic background of cliffs and water.

Why BAR U EAT Makes Fiber Part of the Whole Food

This is the part where our impartiality wanders off into the sunset.

BAR U EAT bars provide 5–6 grams of dietary fiber per bar.

That fiber comes from the foods we're already using to make the bars, including:

Organic oats. Dates. Almonds. Cashews. Walnuts. Pecans. Peanuts. Chia seeds. Flax seeds. Pumpkin seeds. Sunflower seeds. Fruit.

Our flavors currently provide roughly 18–21% of the Daily Value for dietary fiber, depending on the individual bar.

More importantly to us, fiber isn't some lonely nutrient we tossed into the recipe so we could put a bigger number on the package.

It's part of the food.

BAR U EAT bars are also made with organic ingredients, certified gluten-free, oil-free and without artificial preservatives.

That's our general philosophy:

Start with real food.

Try not to screw it up.

If that sounds like your kind of snack, you can shop our Fiber-Rich Snacks collection to see all of the flavors.

Fiber-Rich Snacks for Hiking, Work and On-the-Go

Getting enough fiber is one thing when you're standing six feet from your refrigerator.

It's another when you're on a plane, halfway through a road trip or wandering several miles from civilization.

That's where shelf-stable snacks earn their keep.

Fiber-rich snack bars can be convenient for:

Hiking
Cycling
Running
Skiing
Camping
Road trips
Flights
Work
School
Afternoon snack emergencies of uncertain origin

BAR U EAT bars are individually wrapped and don't require refrigeration, utensils or the organizational skills necessary to remember you packed a pear.

Throw one in your bag and keep moving.

The Bottom Line on High-Fiber Snacks

Eating more fiber doesn't have to mean choking down spoonfuls of bran while contemplating your life choices.

Start with actual food.

Oats. Fruit. Vegetables. Beans. Nuts. Seeds. Whole grains.

Look for snacks that contribute meaningful fiber while making sense nutritionally as a whole.

And when you're buying packaged snacks, flip the wrapper over.

Check the grams of fiber.

Check the % Daily Value.

Read the ingredients.

A little detective work goes a long way.

And if the ingredients happen to be oats, dates, nuts and seeds held together in a dang tasty bar, well...

We know a guy.

Shop BAR U EAT Fiber-Rich Snacks →

Frequently Asked Questions About Fiber-Rich Snacks

What are the best high-fiber snacks?

Good fiber-containing snack options include fruit, nuts, seeds, whole-grain foods, vegetables, legumes and snack bars made with fiber-rich ingredients such as oats, dates, nuts and seeds. The NIDDK lists whole grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables and nuts as good sources of fiber.

How much fiber should I eat per day?

The FDA sets the Daily Value for dietary fiber at 28 grams per day based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Individual recommendations can vary by age, sex and calorie needs.

How much fiber is considered high fiber?

FDA generally considers 20% of the Daily Value or more per serving to be high. With a 28-gram Daily Value for dietary fiber, that works out to approximately 5.6 grams of fiber per serving. (FDA )

What's the difference between soluble and insoluble fiber?

Soluble fiber mixes with water and can slow digestion, while insoluble fiber adds bulk and helps move material through the digestive tract. Many foods naturally contain both types. (National Institutes of Health)

What foods contain soluble fiber?

Soluble fiber can be found in foods including oats, beans, peas, fruits and certain seeds and vegetables. (NIH)

What foods contain insoluble fiber?

Whole grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds can provide insoluble fiber, which contributes bulk and supports digestive regularity.

Are fiber bars healthy?

They can be. Look beyond the fiber number and consider the bar's complete ingredient and nutrition profile. Bars made with whole-food ingredients such as oats, fruit, nuts and seeds can provide fiber alongside other naturally occurring nutrients.

How much fiber is in BAR U EAT bars?

BAR U EAT bars contain 5–6 grams of dietary fiber per bar, depending on flavor, from ingredients including oats, dates, nuts and seeds.

Are BAR U EAT bars high in fiber?

BAR U EAT flavors currently provide approximately 18–21% of the Daily Value for fiber, depending on flavor. Under FDA guidance, 20% DV or more is considered high, while 10–19% DV generally falls within the “good source” range. That's why we describe the full collection as fiber-rich and provide the exact fiber amount whenever possible.