The Importance of Fibre
What amount should you aim for + what are some easy ways to fit it into your diet?
- Written by Joe Jackson
With the additional time afforded to us during the Covid-19 crisis investing it into improving our health should be one of our main priorities. One of the main components of this is bettering our diet. Developing this aspect of our health can increase our energy levels and cause us to look and feel better. An overlooked part of our diet is often our fibre intake. Many of us fail to get the recommended amount and with this, lose the multitude of health benefits that it provides. But how much should we be aiming for, what are the issues of not getting enough and what are some of the easy ways for us to get it into our diet?
What is it?
Fibre is a type of carbohydrate. It cannot be digested by the enzymes in your body so travels through the body undigested. It comes in two varieties:
Soluble fibre: slows the movement of food through your gut and can help regulate how quickly nutrients such as cholesterol and glucose absorb into your bloodstream.
Insoluble fibre: adds bulk to your waste products and speeds up their passage through your intestines. [1]
Benefits
The area that fibre typically is associated with helping is relieving constipation. However, studies have shown its additional health benefits;
#1 Increasing fibre intake can lower blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels.
#2 Fibre supplementation in obese individuals significantly enhances weight loss.
Dietary fibre intake provides many health benefits. Individuals with high intakes of dietary fiber appear to be at significantly lower risk for developing coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and certain gastrointestinal diseases. [1]
Other research on fibre has demonstrated a link has further even to show the link between dietary fibre and the facilitation of biological processes such as infection prevention and the improvement of mood and memory. [2]
The amount to aim for:
With all the aforementioned health benefits how much fibre should we be consuming daily? The amount varies by age. Between the ages of 2-5 years old, we need about 15g of fibre a day, 5-11 20g and 11-16 we need 25g. After this age, the NHS recommends that as adults we consume 30g of fibre a day. Currently, the average adult only consumes 18g a day. [2]
Ways to get more fibre into your diet
With the potential negative effects of not getting enough, here are some of the ways to get more if it into your diet:
#1 Choose fibre-filled breakfast cereals such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat or our personal favourite- porridge oats.
#2 Opt for wholegrain versions of white foods; like wholegrain or seeded bread, and wholewheat or brown rice pasta.
#3 Aim for healthy snacks between meals such as fruits, vegetables - like carrot sticks with hummus, oatcakes, or nuts and seeds.
#4 Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas into all your stews, curries and salads.
#5 If you are struggling to consume enough fibre in your diet, supplements can help to ensure that you get the recommended amount.
Ways to get more fibre into your diet
With the potential negative effects of not getting enough, here are some of the ways to get more if it into your diet:
#1 Choose fibre-filled breakfast cereals such as Weetabix, Shredded Wheat or our personal favourite- porridge oats.
#2 Opt for wholegrain versions of white foods; like wholegrain or seeded bread, and wholewheat or brown rice pasta.
#3 Aim for healthy snacks between meals such as fruits, vegetables - like carrot sticks with hummus, oatcakes, or nuts and seeds.
#4 Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas into all your stews, curries and salads.
#5 If you are struggling to consume enough fibre in your diet, supplements can help to ensure that you get the recommended amount.
We hope you enjoyed reading about the importance of fibre! It is definitely crucial that we all start being conscious of our fibre intake to ensure our bodies are functioning optimally.
References
(1) https://healthyeating.sfgate.com/forms-carbohydrates-cant-body-digest-6414.html
(2) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19335713
(3) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3399949/
(4) https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/
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