As a society, we are not eating enough fibre. But instead filling our diet with processed, low fibre foods. Not only is fibre imperative for bowel health, recent research shows it is important to maintain healthy gut flora and can help prevent type 2 diabetes. When it comes to cholesterol, fibre supports healthy levels by binding onto the cholesterol and carrying it out through the body.
Easy Ways to Include High Fibre Superfoods into Your Diet:
The goal for men is to eat about 40 grams of fibre per day. For women, the number is about 25-30 grams. A person with high cholesterol should aim for about 40g per day for women and about 50 grams for men.
Begin your day with high fibre diet whole food such as oats and a fruit. Wholefoods are a great way to increase your fibre intake. Wholefoods such as legumes, beans, fruit, vegetables, whole grains are all great sources of fibre. Include these into your diet and you are well on the way to reaching your goal of a high fibre diet.
Fibre and Fresh Fruit
All fruit are high fibrous fruit, however, not all fruit are created equally. Pears, apples (with their skin on) and oranges are great fibre foods. Other high fibre fruits include the berries such as blackberries, blueberries, strawberries. 2-3 servings of fruit is recommended.
Wholegrains
Keep the wholegrains coming. Foods such as brown rice, whole grain bread are all high sources of fibre. A hummus and salad sandwich on wholegrain bread is an excellent choice for a high fibre lunch.
Vegetables
High fibre veges come in the form of artichokes, green peas, corn, spinach, broccoli. In fact, all veggies are high fibre. Add vegetables to omelettes, home made pizzas, soup, pasta to boost your fibre consumption.
Fibre in Beans
All beans are high in fibre and packed with many other important nutrients such as protein. Try a meatless Monday and instead of the meat, add the beans.
For more high fibre ideas, please contact our nutritionist.
Originally published on Sep 08, 2014
