Why dietary fibre is good for you (and how to eat enough)
NZ registered nutritionist Nikki Hart shares the down low on dietary fibre, including five delicious ways to increase your intake.
Fibre, or ‘roughage’ as it was commonly called in the 1800s, has long been well-known for its vital role in digestive health.
Now, we learn from the researchers that eating a high-fibre diet may also reduce your risk for many diseases such as heart disease ( helps lower cholesterol), and some types of cancer and diabetes (helps control your blood sugars). Fibre also keeps you feeling full.
What is dietary fibre?
Fibre is a term used to describe any part of plant food that is not completely broken down during digestion. Meats and dairy products do not contain fibre. The undigested fibre moves into the large intestine where bacteria breaks it down.
There are three major types of dietary fibre.
Soluble fibre
Soluble fibre has a mushier texture because it tends to soak up more water. It’s found in apples, citrus fruit, vegetables, dried peas and beans, oats, and barley. This type of fibre can make a softer bowel motion.
Insoluble fibre
Insoluble fibre has a tough, chewy texture. It’s found in wholegrain and whole wheat based cereals and pasta, as well as cabbage, peas, broccoli, and pears. This supplies bulk to the diet.
Resistant starch
Resistant starch is found in firm bananas, roasted chickpeas, cooked and cooled potatoes, baked beans, and boiled long-grain white rice. Like the other types of fibre, this starch helps prevent constipation.
How much dietary fibre should we eat?
Despite the message that ‘eating more fibre is good for you’, we do not eat as much of it as is recommended. Adults should aim to eat between 25 to 30 grams of fibre every day.
Children have lower fibre requirements to prevent them feeling ‘too full’ to eat the required amount of energy needed for growth. The adequate intake recommended for children aged one to eight years is almost half that of an adults’ (14-18 grams of fibre per day).
For children aged nine to 18 years, it’s recommended that they get 20-28 grams, but do not exceed the amount of fibre recommended for adults. A diet providing wholegrain breads and cereals, fruit, vegetables, oats and dried peas and beans will meet a child’s daily requirement.
Most of your daily fibre intake is achieved if you eat a cereal based breakfast each day. I advise clients to get a mixture of soluble fibre and insoluble fibre by varying their cereals within each week – such as eating oats (porridge = soluble) one day and then moving to a whole-grain cereal (muesli = insoluble) for the next.
Fibre fit tips
Add a serving of nuts/seeds to your breakfast cereal
Add canned beans to extend meat dishes
Add chia seeds or oats to smoothies
Leave the skin on your potatoes when you baked them