A diet high in fibre

What is dietary fibre?

Fibre (or fiber if you're from the USA :) ) is the part of fruit and vegetables that we can't digest. It passes right through our bodies and with that in mind it seems odd that it gives us enormous benefits - in spite of never being absorbed. Sometimes it's called roughage or bulk. Whatever you call it, it's an essential part of your diet.

There are different types of fibre but the main division is between soluble and non-soluble fibre. Soluble fibre, as the name suggests, will dissolve in water and results in a thick gel while non-soluble fibre increases the bulk of what you eat and helps the movement of food through your digestive system.

Some sources of soluble fibre are oats, apples, peas and beans, berries. Sources of non-soluble fibre can be nuts, bran, seeds.Why should we eat more fibre?

Benefits of a high fibre diet
The first and most obvious reason is that fibre keeps the digestive system healthy and moving. I had a bad attack of diverticulitis about two years ago and from that point made sure I followed a diet with higher fibre than I had before. I'm very happy to say that I have had no further trouble at all. It really has worked wonders for me.

Less immediately obvious benefits but nevertheless well known, are that fibre helps protect against heart disease; lowers your risk of colon cancer; reduces cholesterol; helps people control blood sugar.
Finally, and something I'm delighted to find, it fills you up and so you eat less, and it also makes you feel fuller for a longer time      
The first and most obvious reason is that fibre keeps the digestive system healthy and moving. I had a bad attack of diverticulitis about two years ago and from that point made sure I followed a diet with higher fibre than I had before. I'm very happy to say that I have had no further trouble at all. It really has worked wonders for me.

How much fibre should we eat?
The most common advice is to eat around 30 grams of fibre a day. But what is 30 grams of fibre? Really, I don't think it's practical to expect anyone to remember what the fibre content of food might be, or to carry around a chart and/or a set of scales.

My own method is just to remember which foods are high in fibre (officially 6g fibre or more in 100g) and which are good sources of fibre (3g or more of fibre in 100g). I fill up on a high fibre breakfast which I put together myself and top up with one or two other sources of fibre for midday and evening meals. It fulfils two targets - high fibre and five-a-day.

 

What are some high fibre foods?

 Good sources of fibre include wholemeal or granary bread; wholegrain cereals; wholewheat pasta; brown rice; fruits such as raspberries, pears, blueberries, grapefruit; vegetables such as peas, beans, lentils and chickpeas.

If you often eat white bread, pasta, and rice, just by changing to the wholemeal or brown versions you can easily double or more your fibre intake.

Don't peel potatoes, eat them with their skins. The same goes for fruit where possible, washed of course.

Plums eaten raw will provide about 2g of fibre per cup but when stewed this can rise to 8g. If you eat dried plums as known as prunes, the figure rises even more to 12g.

Just remembering a few of these facts will help enormously. As time goes on, you will learn more and be able to provide yourself with a good diet without even thinking about it.

 

Breakfast is important         
I find that if I concentrate on having a high fibre breakfast, all I need to do for the remainder of the day is to make sure I get the recommended five-a-day of fruit and vegetables, and that provides me with as much fibre as I need.
For my breakfast I have a tablespoonful of oat bran, three or four prunes or dried apricots, a tablespoonful of raisins, sultanas or cranberries (a recent favourite), a spoonful of chopped nuts, a handful of blueberries or raspberries or diced fruit, all mixed with a fat free yoghurt. I love it! Sometimes I'll add a mix of wheat bran and porridge oats, or a spoonful of ready made muesli. It's so easy to mix and match and ring the changes that it's never boring.

My conclusions

Ultimately, a high fibre diet will leave you feeling more energetic, less hungry and so help you lose weight if that's what you want. It will improve your digestive system, lower cholesterol, help protect your heart and guard against colon cancer. At least give it a try. I bet if you do, you won't want to return to bland and processed food again.
Less immediately obvious benefits but nevertheless well known, are that fibre helps protect against heart disease; lowers your risk of colon cancer; reduces cholesterol; helps people control blood sugar.

Finally, and something I'm delighted to find, it fills you up and so you eat less, and it also makes you feel fuller for a longer time

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