What is fibre? Where can I get it and what are the health benefits? As leading nutritionist and researchers seek to find the answers to these burning questions, one thing is certainly true; fibre is an incredibly important part of our diets. It is also essential to maintain and support a healthy gastro intestinal tract by encouraging healthful bacteria.
Fibre is plant based and contains no nutrients. It is a type of carbohydrate which the enzymes in the body cannot break down and therefore fibre cannot be absorbed into the bloodstream, but travels right through our intestines and out. There are 2 types of fibre:
- Insoluble fibre. This fibre is good for constipation as it reduces transit time in the bowels and makes the stool bulky. This type of fibre is found in skins of fruit and vegetables, nuts, seeds.
- Soluble fibre. This fibre is great for lowering cholesterol and controlling blood sugar levels. It forms a gel in the intestines and prolongs the transit time. Found in apples, lentils, oats, pears, strawberries, barley, beans.
There are many ways in which to obtain fibre from the diet. These include:
- Eating a breakfast containing wholegrains and fruit (including the skin)
- Instead of using white rice, make the switch to brown rice
- Adding vegetables to each meal
- As an alternative to high sugar, high fat, processed snacks, try snacking on fresh or dried fruit, nuts and seeds
A total intake of 30-40g is a healthy amount of fibre to eat each day. This can be reached by including wholegrain, whole, non-processed foods to your diet. See below some examples of the amount of fibre contained in certain foods:
- 4 slices of wholegrain bread contains 5.7g fibre
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter contains 2.7g fibre
- 1 small boiled potato with skin contains 2.8g fibre
- 25 almonds contains 0.5g fibre
- 1 apple contains 1.7g fibre
In order to ensure you are obtaining sufficient fibre, it is important to seek the advice of a naturopath or nutritionist.
Originally published on Jan 03, 2013
