The powerful effects of fibre on your health and well-being

By Dr Megan Chircop

Fibre is often forgotten or overlooked. However, it is a powerhouse when it comes to optimising our health and wellbeing.

What is it?

Dietary fibre or roughage is the indigestible portion of food derived from plants. It has two main components:

• Soluble fibre, which dissolves in water, is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active by products, and can be prebiotic and viscous. It delays gastric emptying which in turn can cause an extended feeling of fullness.
  
• Insoluble fibre, which does not dissolve in water, is metabolically inert and provides bulking, or it can be prebiotic and metabolically ferment in the large intestine. Bulking fibres absorb water as they move through the digestive system, easing defecation.
  

What are the health benefits?

1. Regulate your weight

• fibre is indigestible and does not contribute directly to your calorie intake
• foods high in fibre give you a feeling of satiety 

2. Keeps you regular

3. It is a natural cleanser - fibre binds toxins and eliminates them from the body, including metabolic wastes products made by your body, as well as chemicals that your body makes in excess of need (e.g. cholesterol).

4. Reduces blood pressure and lowers cholesterol levels

5. Improves glucose tolerance and the insulin response following a meal

6. Reduces risk of some cancers, particular colon cancer

7. Positively modulates colonic microflora

8. Can alleviate symptoms associated with irritable bowel syndrome, and inflammatory bowel diseases as in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

 What happens if you don't have enough?

Symptoms:

• bloating
• flatulence
• constipation
• diarrhoea
• stools that sink and stick to the toilet bowl, instead of floating and being easy to flush

Some people develop some of these symptoms as a result of specific food intolerances (e.g. lactose intolerance, or an intolerance to certain FODMAPS), and certain diseases. So, if you have been drinking adequately and have been eating >25 grams of fibre a day for at least a couple of weeks and your gut still isn’t happy, I would recommend you see your GP.

Health problems:
Low fibre diets have been linked with colon and rectal cancers, as well as vascular disease.

There is also evidence emerging that low fibre diets generate disturbances in the diversity of the microbiome, which can contribute to weight gain or an inability to lose weight (among other things).

How much fibre do you need?

Most Australians do not consume enough fibre.

The Heart Foundation recommends that adults (.18 years) should aim to consume at least 25g (females) to 30 g (males).

Children aged between 4 and 8 should consume 18 g of fibre each day. Girls aged 9 to 13, and 14 to 18 years, need 20 g and 22 g per day respectively. Boys aged 9 to 13, and 14 to 18 years, need 24 g and 28 g per day respectively.

I still have gut symptoms...Do I need more fibre?

Assuming that you don’t have a bowel disease, then you might require more than the recommended amount of fibre. This may be the case if are consuming high amounts of protein or fat

• Protein tends to act like a glue. If there is a relatively high amount of protein in your diet (with respect to fibre), the stools are more likely to sink and stick to the toilet bowel. Although smaller in size, they might be difficult to pass.
  Fats tend to make stools fragmented and slippery. In extreme cases, ingesting large amounts of fats can result in diarrhoea.
  

Ways to increase fibre intake

• Increase intake of plant-derived foods (especially green leafy vegetables, cruciform vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, and cauliflower)
  
• Increase intake of whole grains like bran, chia seeds - start by sprinkling a few teaspoons on your breakfast. Or try one of our chia-enriched recipes: chia chocolate smoothie, and cranberry coconut bliss balls, and whipped peanut butter. Bonus - Chia is also high in omega-3.
• if needed, supplement your fibre intake with psyllium husks. However, it is better to add fibre to the diet from food sources rather than from fibre supplements, as these can aggravate constipation, especially if you do not increase the amount of water you drink daily.

A sudden switch from a low-fibre diet to a high-fibre diet can create some abdominal pain and increased flatulence (wind). Also, very high-fibre diets (more than 40 g daily) are linked with decreased absorption of some important minerals such as iron, zinc and calcium. This occurs when fibre binds these minerals and forms insoluble salts, which are then excreted. This could increase the risk of developing deficiencies of these minerals in susceptible people. 

Introduce fibre into your diet gradually to avoid any negative outcomes
AND
ensure to increase your water intake along with an increase in fibre

What does a healthy plate of food look like with sufficient fibre?

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