Let's talk about dietary fibre!

We've all heard that fibre is an important part of a healthy balanced diet - but we may not understand why that is and so I thought it might be helpful to explain a few things about fibre! 

Firstly, how much fibre do we need? Well, the government recommendation is 30g per day - however in the UK the average adult only gets around 18g per day.... as you'll see below, fibre plays an important role in our overall health, so we want to make sure we are getting plenty in our diet!

Fibre Facts:

There are two types of fibre - soluble and insoluble. As you may have guessed, soluble fibre can dissolve in water where insoluble fibre can't. 

Fibre is a carbohydrate that is found in the indigestible parts of plant foods. When we say indigestible, what we mean here is that humans can't digest it, and therefore can't get any energy from it (technically we can get a tiny bit from soluble fibre, but it's not so much that we would count it as an energy source). Now you might be thinking if we don't digest it and it doesn't give us energy, how can it be important? Well, there are a few reasons! 

Health benefits

Insoluble fibre or 'roughage' is needed to make sure that food and waste are able to travel smoothly through the gut and intestines. It promotes regular bowel movements and reduces the amount of time that waste sits in the intestines. 

Soluble fibre helps to slow digestion and absorption which helps control blood sugar and cholesterol. 

Although humans can’t digest fibre, the bacteria in our gut can! It is essential that we ‘feed’ these bacteria to ensure good gut health.

Studies on dietary fibre over several decades have shown that it is an important factor in heart health - these studies show that a diet high in fibre can prevent cardiovascular disease and reduce blood pressure. 

As well as improving gut and heart health and helping to control blood sugar and cholesterol, eating a high fibre diet can help with weight management. Eating high fibre foods can help you feel fuller for longer which helps people stick to caloric restrictions more easily. 

In short, eating a good amount of fibre is going to help keep you healthier for longer. 

High fibre foods include:

• Vegetables

• Fruit

• Nuts

• Beans and pulses

• Oats

• Whole grains

How to increase fibre intake

Increasing your fibre intake doesn't have to be tricky! You can get more fibre in your diet by making simple changes such as increasing your veg intake, adding pulses and lentils to stews, curries and salads, leaving the skins on potatoes, choosing wholegrain or granary bread, switching to brown rice and pasta and having more fruit.

Why not make a few changes and get that fibre intake up :)

Nutrition coach Laura