It feels like we are bombarded every day with “high protein” products in supermarkets, on social media and sometimes even in our email inboxes. But there is nowhere near as much marketing or hype around increasing our fibre intake, despite the fact that while most of us already get all the protein we need from our standard diets, very few of us get enough fibre.
In fact, most of us are getting far less than the recommended amount. But fibre is a crucial part of a healthy balanced diet. Fibre is important for digestion and gut health, which scientists say is crucial for heart and mental health too – you can read how I got my gut health score to 93 out of 100 here.
Benefits of a diet rich in fibre, according to healthcare provider Bupa, are:
It can even help you live more healthy years. A study reported in widely respected health journal The Lancet showed that people with a high fibre intake had a 15-30% reduction in the risk of dying and of coronary heart disease. It said “higher intakes of dietary fibre could confer even greater benefit to protect against cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal and breast cancer”.
How much fibre do we need in our diet?
Bupa recommend that adults aim for 30g of fibre per day, something many of us fail to achieve with the average adult in the UK only consuming only around 18g per day. Science and nutrition firm Zoe has similar recommendations, saying adult women should consume about 25g of fibre a day and adult men should aim for about 35g. Bupa says: “It’s important to try and increase this amount through dietary changes.”
How I consume 30g of fibre a day
It can sometimes be difficult to hit your daily fibre requirement. However, to give myself the best chance of doing so, I follow these key rules:
Although 30 plants a week sounds like a lot, it’s actually a lot more achievable than you think. “Plants” doesn’t just mean fruit and vegetables. Also included are many different kinds of bean, lentils, chickpeas, nuts and even extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate and coffee, as well as herbs and spices.
Once you take all that into account, you can hopefully quickly see how achievable it is to get 30 different plants into your diet in a week. What’s more, it doesn’t have to be expensive. Tins of beans cost less than £1 each.
The simple way to eat more plants and less meat is to try and change the balance of what’s on your plate. Meat does not always have to be the main part of your meal. For example, if you were eating a big old steak for dinner, try a vegetable dish as the main instead and either have a smaller amount of meat as a side, or cut it out altogether.
Or if you’re eating a lasagne, cottage pie or spaghetti bolognese, try using less minced beef and instead use lentils or chopped mushrooms to bulk it out.
What a typical 30g of fibre a day menu looks like
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, strawberries, bananas, raspberries, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds (13g of fibre)
Lunch: Canned tuna with lentils, hummus, lettuce, olives, cucumber (10g of fibre)
Dinner: Chickpea, cannellini bean and vegetable curry (13g of fibre).