Within the UK evidence suggests that only 9% of the adult population are getting the require amount of daily fibre in their diet and that this is heavily impactive on health as the balance needs to be considered even more for our overall health and wellbeing.
Fibre or roughage as it is often called is an essential part of the diet that is so often overlooked, and yet plays a major role in our digestive health and keeps the body fit from the inside. Fibre helps keep the digestive tract flowing, your bowl movements regular as the fibre, the fuel of the colon keeps us healthy from within.
Dietary fibre is the part of the food which is not digested by the normal process before it reaches the large intestine. Within the stomach fibre remains largely unchanged before starting its journey. As an adult you should be aiming for between 30-35g a day of fibre, however Government reports say that this is as low as 20g.
Children don’t need as much fibre in their diet as older teenagers and adults, but they still in a daily intake more than they are currently getting. For children up to 16 years the following amounts of fibre are needed:
On average children aged 11 to 18 years are getting about 16g per day. By encouraging them to eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and wholegrain starchy foods such as potatoes with skins on them can help to ensure that they are eating enough fibre.
Soluble – found mainly in plant cells, with one of its major roles is to lower blood cholesterol. Good sources include fruit, vegetables, oat bran, barley, seed husks, flax seed, dried beans, lentils, peas, soy milk and soya products.
Insoluble – this makes us the structural part of plant cells. A major role of insoluble fibre is to add bulk to waste and to prevent constipation. Good sources include wheat bran, rice bran, skins of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain foods, nuts, and seeds.
Starch – acts like fibre and is the part of starchy foods that resists digestion. Starch is found in many unprocessed cereals, grains, firm bananas, potatoes, and lentils. Starch is important for bowel health, the health bacteria in the bowel converts the starch to shorty change fatty acids which are essential and may protect the bowel from cancer. These fatty acids are also absorbed by the bloodstream and may play a role in the lowering of blood cholesterol levels.
These include cereals, grains, fruit, and vegetables. The fibre found in plants is the undigestible part passing unchanged through our stomach and intestine. The main role here is to keep the whole digestive system healthy.
Two thick slices of wholemeal toasted bread (6.6g) topped with one sliced banana (1.4g) and a small 150ml glass of fruit juice (1.2g) will give you about 9.2g of fibre.
Oatmeal granola with yogurt, berries and nuts in a bowl on the table. Healthy breakfast
A baked jacket potato with the skin on (4.7g) with around half a can (about a 200g portion) of reduced-sugar and reduced-salt baked beans in tomato sauce (9.8g) followed by an apple (1.2g) will give you around 15.7g of fibre.
Mixed vegetable tomato-based curry cooked with onion and spices (6.6g) with boiled wholegrain rice (2.7g) followed by a lower fat fruit yoghurt (0.4g) will give you around 9.7g of fibre. Be mindful that fruit yoghurts can sometimes be high in added sugars, so as always check those food labels and swap for lower-sugar options.
A small handful of nuts (30g), such as almonds, can have around 3.8g of fibre. Make sure you choose unsalted and flavoured versions. Fruit like pears (3.1g) and raspberries (6.5g) per 100g also provide great fibre as well as other dense nutrients.
Multigrain crackers are also a great option to increase fibre intake.