Zoe co-founder Professor Tim Spector joined forces with chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to help people take action on new results from health studies this year. Sharing their insights on the Zoe podcast, the professor claimed that studies have found adding just an extra five grams of fibre to your everyday diet can cut your risk of death.
Professor Tim shared: “The magic figure is for every five grams of fibre, you’re going to reduce your overall risk of mortality by about 14%. Reduce your risk of dying by around a sixth just by five grams of fibre.”
The nutrition expert noted that this “magic figure” really isn’t a daunting goal as the average person has been found to consume roughly 15 grams of fibre every day in their normal diets. To double-up your health benefits from this, the experts recommended getting your extra grams of fibre from plants specifically.
In fact, they recommended getting it from 30 different types of plants every week, which may sound far more daunting than an extra 5 grams a day but the additional health benefits also increase in equal measure. The professor explained that the polyphenols and other chemicals alongside the fibre in plants help to lower the risk of cancer, improve mood and reduce hunger pangs.
However, not all plants are the same. To truly get the most out of the polyphenols, there are some tell-tale signs to look out for: “The shape, the colour and the taste, they’re all clues as to the polyphenol count. The more bitter and strong, if the leaves are loose that means they’ve had less protection, so they’ve had to be tougher.”
Chef Hugh added that their joint collaboration to get Britons to eat more plants won’t send shoppers out on a wild goose chase to find “obscure plant ingredients you haven’t heard of and might not like”. Instead, he assured there are hundreds of eligible plants people know, like and probably eat on a weekly basis, ranging from fruit and vegetables to nuts, herbs and even spices.
Elsewhere on the podcast, the Professor pointed out that even coffee can be a great source of fibre as two cups offers more than a banana. Although he did recommend avoiding instant coffee if you’re after these benefits.