Learn why fibre is essential for optimal health, how much to eat and how you can get more fibre into your daily diet. 

I am sure you have heard it before “Eat more Fibre”, but why?

Fibre is essential for keeping us regular, but it also plays a crucial role in maintaining our health. Fibre assists with the absorption of nutrients, lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and some cancers. 

Regulation of bowel movements: as dietary fibre increases the bulk and softens stools, decreasing your chance of constipation. If you have diarrhoea, fibre can reduce loose and watery stool movements by absorbing the water and solidifying the stool. 

Gastrointestinal tract health and disease prevention: when fibre is fermented in the colon short chain fatty acids are produced, these molecules produce various effects on health throughout the body (Venegas et al., 2019). Short chain fatty acids are the primary fuel for cells in the intestine and assist in protecting the mucus layer in the gut. Short chain fatty acids are also involved in the regulation and metabolization of energy, helping to protect you from metabolic diseases such as diabetes. Butyrate, a short chain fatty, is also  involved in your immune system via its anti-inflammatory effect. 

Heart health: Studies have shown that people consuming the highest amount of fibre in their diet can significantly reduce the incidence and mortality from cardiovascular disease (McRae, 2017). It protects the heart by lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (the bad one). As soluble fibre in your gastrointestinal tract binds with cholesterol particles in your digestive system, stopping them from being absorbed. Fibre intake has also been shown to assist in reducing blood pressure and inflammation (Streppel, Arends, Van’t Veer, Grobbee, & Geleijnse, 2005). 

Blood sugar control: fibre slows the absorption of sugar. It decreases the glycemic index of foods, helping improve blood sugar levels with studies showing that high fibre intake reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (McRae, 2018).

Weight management: Fibre in whole food adds bulk and is more filling than low-fibre high processed foods, allowing you to feel fuller sooner, eat less and stay satisfied longer. 

Types of Fibre

Dietary fibre is found in fruit, vegetables, wholegrains, and legumes. The amount of fibre in food varies as well as the type of fibre present in the food. Fibre is classified into insoluble fibre and soluble fibre. 

Insoluble fibre does not mix with water but adds bulk to stools by retaining and encouraging the passage of food and waste through the gastrointestinal tract preventing constipation and regulating stool movements. It can assist in the removal of toxins, parasites, and irritating agents helping to cleanse the body. It also assists in modulating blood sugar levels.

Great sources of insoluble fibre are root vegetables, wholegrains, legumes and wheat bran.

Soluble fibre mixes with water in the gastrointestinal tract to form a gel; this slows digestion allowing absorption of nutrients, controls blood sugar levels and lowers total cholesterol. This gel can be broken down and fermented in the colon, allowing it to be used as a prebiotic fibre. Prebiotic fibres are soluble fibres that beneficial bacteria use as a fuel source to grow and increase in numbers.  

Great sources of soluble fibre are nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, oats, barley, apples, berries, citrus fruit, garlic, leeks, onions, banana, Jerusalem artichokes and pears. 

Great sources of prebiotic fibre are garlic, onions, leeks, barley, apples, nuts, asparagus, oats, Jerusalem artichoke. 

How much fibre should we eat?

Hints on how to add fibre into your diet

Start your day with fibre: replace processed cereals with wholegrain cereals to boost your fibre intake at breakfast, e.g. replace corn flakes (0.9g/fibre) with whole oats, topped with fruit and nuts (9.4g/fibre).

Eat Fruit: add it to your breakfast, try adding fresh blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or blackberries to your morning cereal or yoghurt. Replace dessert with fruit.

Replace juices with whole fruit: Eat the whole fruit instead, get more fibre and fewer calories. One glass of orange juice contains almost 0.1g of fibre and 458.9kj; one medium fresh orange contains about 4.1g of fibre and only 296.5kj.

Replace white processed products with whole grain alternatives: white bread (1g/fibre) with whole grain bread (2.4g/fibre). Pasta spaghetti white (3.7g/fibre) whole grain spaghetti (8.4g/fibre). White rice (1.9g/fibre) brown rice (2.5g/fibre) 

When baking: substitute whole-grain flour for half of the white flour, add crushed bran cereal or unprocessed wheat bran to muffins, cakes, and cookies. Add psyllium husk to gluten-free baked goods, such as bread, pizza dough, and pasta.

Add flaxseed or hemp seed: grind the seeds to add to yoghurt, applesauce, or breakfast cereals, added benefits of some healthy omega 3 fatty acids.  

Bulk up your meals with pre-cut fresh or frozen vegetables added to soups and sauces. Mix chopped frozen broccoli into prepared spaghetti sauce, grate a carrot and add to tomato soup or toss fresh baby carrots into stews. Beans, peas, lentils are delicious and great high-fibre additions to soups and stews. 

Bulk up your salads. Liven up a dull salad by adding nuts, seeds, kidney beans, peas, or black beans. 

Make snacks count. Fresh and dried fruit, raw vegetables, and whole-grain crackers are all good ways to add fibre at snack time. A handful of nuts can also make a healthy, high-fibre snack. 

“Just remember the more natural and unprocessed the food, the higher it is in fibre.”