Can foods contain both soluble and insoluble fibre?

The answer is yes.

ALL fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans, lentils), sprouts, nuts, seeds and grains contain BOTH soluble and insoluble fibre. However, some of them contain more soluble fibre, whereas others contain predominantly insoluble fibre.

Fresh carrots are a rich source of both soluble and insoluble fibre, reason why you can see it listed in both columns in your course materials.

Bear in mind that the amount of soluble and insoluble fibre in each food item will vary depending on the genetic makeup of the produce, geographical location, soil quality, season, weather, nutrients in the soil, production methods, etc.

As a guideline, you can go by the charts in your course materials.

The sources of either soluble or insoluble fibre on the table in this module are in comparison to other foods, and not in comparison to the proportion of soluble/insoluble content in the same food.

So, for example, oat cereal is in the "soluble" side of the table because they contain on average 2 grams of soluble fibre per 21g serving, whereas onions only contain "traces" of soluble fibre per 55g serving - that is, below 0.0 grams (Marlett and Cheung, JADA).

Fruits, vegetables and legumes are ideal sources of both soluble and insoluble fibre since they also contain a very high antioxidant value.

If you wish to explore this further, click HERE for a useful external resource, which lists various types of fibre and their primary food sources.

AUTHOR: Alex Ruani, Research Director

Updated on: 14/10/2026