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Fibre: The overlooked nutrient that supports your gut, heart and overall health

By Saffron Whyton BSc ANutr

In the UK, the average intake of fibre is just 18g per day and only 9% of adults reach the recommended 30g per day. So, what is fibre, why do we need more of it, and how can we boost our intake in everyday life?

What exactly is fibre?

Fibre is a type of complex carbohydrate found in plants. Unlike other nutrients, it isn’t easily digested and absorbed in the stomach and small intestine – instead, it travels to the large intestine where it plays key roles in our health. It:

  • Feeds our gut microbiome, which in turn produces compounds that support health
  • Provides ‘bulk’ to our stool
  • Makes our stool soft and heavy by drawing in water (this helps them to pass, reducing constipation)
  • Slows digestion, keeping you fuller for longer
  • Carries some less healthy waste products out of the body

Types of fibre

There are two main types of fibre:

  • Soluble fibre: dissolves in water and forms a gel in the gut, slowing digestion and helping you feel fuller (increasing satiety). It is also food for our gut microbes. Found in fruits (not skins) and vegetables, beans and pulses, oats, barley and other wholegrains.
  • Insoluble fibre: passes to the large intestine where it adds bulk to stool, supporting regular bowel movements. Found in wholegrains, nuts, skins of fruit and vegetables, and fibrous veg like cauliflower.

What about resistant starch?

Resistant starch behaves like fibre.  It’s fermented in the colon by our gut microbes producing short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that benefit our health. SCFAs have numerous health benefits, including keeping our gut lining intact, increasing satiety and improving metabolic health.

Resistant starch is found in lentils, beans, cashews, pistachios, oats, green bananas and plantain.

Health benefits of fibre

 

  • Helps regulate blood sugar
    Delays gastric emptying, slowing digestion. This helps to reduce blood sugar and insulin spikes after meals, particularly in people with type 2 diabetes.
  • Lowers cholesterol
    Binds to saturated fats and dietary cholesterol in the gut to reduce absorption, which helps to reduce cholesterol levels, lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease.
  • Supports healthy weight
    Fibre-rich diets help people to achieve a healthy body weight. This is multifactorial, but likely due to increased satiety and reduced absorption of fat and glucose. Eating lots of fibre-rich foods can ‘crowd out’ other less healthy options, and fibre-rich foods are generally low in fat.

10 Easy Ways to Boost Your Fibre Intake

  1. Eat more plant proteins
    Swap out animal protein that contains no fibre, for fibre-rich plant proteins. Instead of beef, make a bean burrito or lentil ragu – and swap out chicken for chickpeas in a curry.
  2. Go slow
    Increase fibre gradually to avoid gas and bloating – see our 10 top tips fact sheet for reducing bloating.
  3. Choose wholegrains
    Swap white for wholegrain bread, pasta, and rice. Wholegrains retain the bran and germ, which are rich in fibre and other nutrients, whereas white versions are more processed and have these parts removed.
  4. Stay hydrated
    Fibre absorbs water, so to avoid digestive discomfort and constipation, drink plenty of fluids. You can eat your water too, by choosing some hydrating foods like watermelon, soups, smoothies and salads.
  5. Pile on fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds
    Plums, berries, apples and bananas, figs and dates, Brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes and broccoli…. and don’t forget the skins (if they’re edible!). Have fruit and nuts or veg sticks as your go-to snack, instead of more processed alternatives with less fibre. And add extra plants to your plate wherever you can – scatter nuts and seeds onto breakfast, soups and salads, add a side salad or an extra portion of veg to dinner.
  6. Add garlic & onions
    Use these as a base to dishes – they are great sources of prebiotic fibre (food for our gut microbes), and flavour.
  7. Use fibre-rich dips, dressings and sauces
    Try tahini, baba ganoush or hummus dips, or something a little fancier like a Romesco sauce, cashew ‘cheese’ sauce and other nut-based sauces and dressings.
  8. Cool your spuds!
    Cook and cool potatoes, rice and pasta to increase resistant starch. This is known as retrogradation. Using leftovers is handy here – and reheating them increases resistant starch even further!
  9. Sprinkle nuts & seeds
    A perfect addition to porridge, smoothies, salads, soups and chopped to top pasta bakes. Chia seeds contain around 5g/tbsp of fibre, almonds 4g/small handful.
  10. Add herbs & spices
    Even herbs and spices contain fibre – add to spice up your favourite dishes

Key Takeaways

  1. Most people in the UK are falling far short of the 30g/day fibre recommendation
  2. Soluble and insoluble fibre and resistant starch all support gut and overall health
  3. Fibre helps reduce the risk of colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity
  4. Simple swaps and small additions can quickly boost your intake
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