Fibre is the indigestible parts of plants foods (carbohydrate). Sources are our vegetables, fruit, grains beans and legumes.
Fibre keeps our digestive system healthy and helps ensure regular bowel movements.
Fibre can improve our cholesterol and blood glucose levels and therefore its thought that it may assist in the prevention of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Because fibre can keep us full for longer, a high fibre diet is suggested for those wanting to lose weight as well!
The recommended daily intake is approximately 25g for women and 30g for men
Some additional tips….
– Drink plenty of fluids to help make bowel movements easier to pass, especially if you are constipated.
– Increase your fibre intake gradually to reduce potential side effects such as bloating, excess wind, constipation or too frequent bowel movements.
– Add a higher fibre food to one meal per day or a new high fibre food every few days.
Eating vegetables and fruit is better than drinking juice. If choosing juice, ensure the whole vegetable or fruit is used by stirring through any remaining pulp or by blending whole vegetable or fruit pieces, including edible skin and seeds.
So what foods should I eat?
Choose wholegrain, wholemeal and or high fibre varieties of grain-based foods such as bread and pasta.
Choose a variety of wholegrains such as rice, oats, barley, quinoa and buckwheat
Eat 2 servings of fruit and 5 servings of vegetables every day
Add legumes to your meals
Enjoy the taste sensations……
References:
https://www.baker.edu.au/…/baker-institute-factsheet…
https://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/fibre
