Food rich in fibre - How to get fibre into your diet?

The vast majority of us want to eat more food rich in fibre and possess fewer added sugars in our diet.

Eating lots of high-fibre rich foods is associated with a lower risk of coronary disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus and bowel cancer. 

Guidelines printed in July 2015 say our dietary fibre intake must increase to 30g per day, as part of a healthful balanced diet.

As most adults are only eating an avg of about 18g day, we will need to discover ways of increasing our intake. 

Children under the age of 16 don't need as much food rich in fibre in their diet as older teens and adults, but they still want more than they get currently: 

2 to 5 year-olds: need about 15g of fibre a day 

5 to 11 year-olds: want about 20g of fibre a day

11 to 16 year-olds: want about 25g of fibre a day.

Typically, children and teens are only getting around 15g or less of fibre every day. 

Allowing them to eat lots of fruits and veggies and starchy foods (choosing whole grain versions and potatoes with the skins on where possible) might help to ensure they're eating enough food rich in fibre. 

Dietary fibre – Why do we need food rich in fibre in our diet? 

There's strong evidence that eating lots of fibre (soluble fibre & insoluble fibre) is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, heart disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, colorectal cancer/bowel cancer. 

Choosing foods with fibre also makes us feel fuller, while a diet rich in fibre might help the digestive system and prevent constipation. 

Suggestions to raise your fibre intake It is vital to get fibre from a wide range of resources, as ingesting too much of one type of food might not provide you with a healthful balanced diet. 

To raise your fibre intake you can: Pick a higher-fibre breakfast cereal like plain wholewheat biscuits or plain noodle whole grain (like Shredded wheat), or porridge as oats are also a fantastic source of fibre. 

Discover more about healthful breakfast cereals. 

Go for wholemeal or granary bread, or higher fibre white bread, and choose whole grains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice. 

Go for potatoes with their skins on, like a baked potato or boiled new potatoes. Discover more about starchy foods and carbohydrates. 

Add pulses like beans, lentils or garbanzo beans to stews, curry and salads. Include lots of vegetables with foods, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curry. 

Have some dried or fresh fruits, or fruits canned in natural juice.

Since dried fruits are sticky, it might increase the possible risk of tooth decay, so it is better if it is only eaten as part of a meal, as opposed to as a between-meal snack. 

For snacks, try fruits, vegetable sticks, crackers, oatcakes and unsalted nuts or seeds. 

The fibre in your Everyday diet. 

Listed below is the fibre content of several example foods.

Fibre at breakfast

Two thick slices of wholemeal toasted bread (6.5gram of fibre) topped with one sliced banana (1.4g) and a small glass of fruits smoothie beverage (1.5g) can give you around 9.4gram of fibre. 

Fibre at lunch 

A baked jacket potato with the skin on (2.6g) with a 200g portion of reduced-sugar and reduced-salt baked beans in tomato sauce (9.8g) followed by an apple (1.2g) can give you around 13.6gram of fibre. 

Fibre at dinner 

Mixed vegetable tomato-based curry cooked with onion and spices (3.3g) with wholegrain rice (2.8g) followed with a lower fat fruits yoghurt (0.4g) can give you around 6.5gram of fibre.

Bear in mind that fruits yoghurts can occasionally be high in added sugars, so check the label and try to select lower-sugar versions. 

Fibre as a bite 

A tiny handful of nuts or flax seeds may have up to 3g of fibre. Ensure you select unsalted nuts, like plain almonds, without added sugars. Total: Around 32.5gram of fibre. 

Fibre on food labels 

The preceding example is only an illustration, as the quantity of fibre in almost any food may depend on how it's made or prepared and on how much of it you consume.

Most pre-packaged foods have a nutrition label on the side or rear of the packaging, which often gives you a guide about how much dietary fibre the food contains.