What’s the deal with Fibre?

Let's Talk Fibre: The Superfood Secret for a Healthier You!

Fibre is that stuff we often call ‘roughage’ and usually only think about in relation to keeping ourselves ‘regular’.

However, these days you may have seen that fibre is seen as a superfood due to its proven qualities in supporting the gut microbiome and keeping us healthy, being associated with lower levels of type 2 diabetes, and reduced heart disease as well as some types of cancer.

In rural Africa, apparently, people consume about 55g of dietary fibre daily, while in the western world average is just 20g—well below the recommended 30g. Guess who has a much lower incidence of bowel disease.

So, what is Fibre?

Dietary fibre is the indigestible part of plants, only found in fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. It’s essential for digestion, absorbing water in the digestive tract and making food easier to pass through the gut. Fibre helps maintain a healthy balance of gut bacteria, which aid digestion, prevent harmful bacteria from colonising, regulate the immune system, nourish gut cells, produce essential vitamins like B vitamins and vitamin K, and metabolise toxins. This balance can fluctuate based on diet, health, and factors like antibiotic use, so it's crucial to eat a variety of plant fibres everyday.

Fruit and vegetable fibre also helps slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood, maintaining good blood sugar balance and helping to maintain good energy levels. It helps to promote satiety, making you feel fuller for longer and reduces cravings.

There are three types of fibre, each benefiting our bodies differently so eating a mix of all three is best:

Insoluble fibre: Found in vegetable peels, seeds, bran, and cereal husks. It absorbs water but isn’t broken down, helping food move quickly through the bowels.

Soluble fibre: The main food source for the trillions of gut microbes necessary for digestion. It dissolves in water, slowing sugar and carbohydrate absorption, adding bulk to stools (your poop), and potentially lowering cholesterol. Think oats, beans, lentils, chia and flax seeds, fruit and vegetable flesh, root vegetables, and dried fruits.

Resistant starch: This is found in cooked and then cooled starchy foods like rice and potatoes, and in green bananas. It benefits the gut bacteria and improves digestive health.

Boosting fibre intake.

Processed and refined foods dominate most modern diets, reducing our fibre intake. High-fibre foods are economical but might need more preparation time than white bread, pasta or something out of a packet. So how do we get the recommended amount into our diet?

Breakfast is a great meal to include fibre:

·        A bowl of porridge oats with 15g of chia seeds and 100g of raspberries = 16g of fibre (half your daily requirement).

·        Natural yogurt (no fibre) with flax or chia seeds and a grated apple = over 10g of fibre.

·        Eggs with avocado, spinach or any veg you have.

·        And if you love your bread, try a seed bread with nut butter (9g/100g) or some veggies.

·        Smoothies are a perfect source of fibre, fruit juice is not.

Throughout the day aim for at least five different vegetables and two to three fruits.

High fibre foods include avocado (9g), brussel sprouts, kale, peas, beans, chia seeds (9 g/2tbsp), flaxseeds(11.5g/2tbsp), pumpkin or sunflower seeds, lentils (7g/100mg), chickpeas, quinoa, artichoke hearts, rye bread, and porridge oats (12g/100g).

A food is a good source of fibre if it has 3g per 100g, and high fibre if it has more than 6g per 100g. Check labels while shopping. A portion is about 100g = roughly one cupped hand.

Pro Tip: If you're new to high-fibre diets, increase your intake gradually and drink plenty of fluids to help fibre do its job. Spreading out fibre intake over every meal and snack will be more comfortable than eating it all in one meal. You may experience bloating, gas, diarrhoea or constipation when you increase your fibre intake so you may prefer to start with less concentrated sources of fibre with a high-water content such as oranges, apples, tomatoes, celery, cucumber and courgette.

So, keeping our digestive tract in top shape is crucial for more than just your poop schedule. Give it a try and let me know how it goes!