Increasing your fibre intake - The basics
Fibre Explained
“Dietary fibre is the part of plant foods that our body cannot digest or absorb – it’s used as food by the millions of beneficial bacteria in the large colon that help to keep us healthy”, explains nutritionist Todd Donnelly.
“Food fibre absorbs water like a sponge. It swells as it absorbs water present in the stomach and so can help with the feeling of fullness – so it’s a good idea to increase fibre in your diet if you’re looking to manage your weight”.
“It is important to drink plenty of fluids such as water, tea, coffee or low calorie squash when eating more fibre, to allow it to work properly. Fibre helps stool formation, keeping your bowel habits regular to prevent constipation”, Todd adds.
“Dietary fibre is found in all plant foods, especially wholegrain cereals and breads, fruit, vegetables, peas, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds. Most foods high in fibre are low in fat (nuts and seeds excepted) and are rich sources of other nutrients making it an important part of a balanced diet choice”.
Fibre and Your Health
“Dietary fibre helps lower blood cholesterol, as well as keeping blood glucose and insulin levels stable, making it an important nutrient in treating, and reducing the risk of, heart disease and type 2 diabetes”.
“There are basically 2 types of fibre (soluble and insoluble) present in food that are beneficial in different ways”, says Todd, “that’s why it’s important to eat a variety of fibre-containing foods to ensure you get maximum benefits”.
Check food labels to see whether a product contains a ‘lot’ or a ‘little’ fibre – for foods eaten in large amounts such as ready meals, look at the amount ‘per serving’. A ‘lot’ of fibre would be 3g per serving – a ‘little’ fibre would be 0.5g per serving.
Fibre Myths and Misconceptions
- “High fibre foods cause wind”. Any additional wind following a sudden increase in fibre intake will usually disappear after 2-3 weeks. A gradual increase in fibre intake helps to prevent bacteria in the bowel working overtime in their wind production! It’s important to increase fluid intake too when eating more fibre.
- “Getting more fibre means eating bran all the time”. Bran is a good source of fibre but adding to food is not encouraged since it affects the absorption of important minerals such as calcium, iron and zinc. It is better to obtain fibre from wholegrain foods, vegetables, fruits, pulses and beans.
- “Bread is fattening”. No – bread itself is not fattening. However, a couple of teaspoons of butter or mayonnaise on a slice of bread will double its calorie content, and make it more likely that you eat more calories than the body needs – excess calories will be turned into body fat.
- “All breakfast cereals are good sources of fibre”. Many of the more popular cereals such as Cornflakes, Rice Crispies, Cocoa Pops, Sugar Puffs are very low in fibre and often contain a lot of sugar.
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