Fibre – how much is enough?

Written By
HealthyDoesIt Features Writer

How much is enough?

Most UK adults are only eating on average about 18g of fibre today. For this reason, we all need to take extra care to include more fibre in our diets. Government guidelines published in July 2015 say our dietary fibre intake should increase to 30g a day, as part of a healthy balanced diet. As most adults are only eating an average of about 18g day, we need to find ways of increasing our intake. But how?

Fibre, fibre… everywhere?

However, if fibre was that easy to find, we’d all be meeting the government guidelines. So it’s clearly not as simple as it seems <smile>.  Follow this simple steps, and you’re on your way to getting it right.

1. Choose a higher-fibre breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits (like Weetabix) or plain shredded whole grain (like Shredded wheat), or porridge as oats are also a good source of fibre. Find out more about healthy breakfast cereals. Health stores stock all kinds of tasty cereals, including organic ones – so look out for these.
2. Go for wholemeal or granary breads, or higher fibre white bread, and choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.
3. Choose potatoes with their skins on, such as a baked potato or boiled new potatoes. Find out more about starchy foods and carbohydrates
4. Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
5. Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries. Find out more about how to get your 5 A Day.
6. Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert. Because dried fruit is sticky, it can increase the risk of tooth decay, so it’s better if it is only eaten as part of a meal, rather than as a between-meal snack.

Reference: NHS Eatwell: get more fibre in your diet.