What is fibre? 

Dietary fibre is an essential nutrient found in plants that is not completely digested in the gut once eaten. It is best known for its ability to relieve or prevent constipation but there are many benefits to consuming the right amount of fibre. It is not only important for a healthy gut, but also contributes to our heart health and weight management. Fibre takes longer to digest, making you feel fuller for longer, and also doesn't spike your blood sugar. Furthermore, some fibre is ‘prebiotic’ which means it feeds good bacteria within the gut, contributing to a healthy gut microbiome.

There are two types of fibre: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre can help lower blood glucose and aids digestion. Insoluble fibre can make stool softer and easier to pass. Generally, we should aim for at least 30g of fibre a day, so hopefully this list will help you understand how to achieve this and more. 

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Top tip regarding fibre intake:

• If you’re increasing your fibre intake, you may need to also increase your fluid intake to get the benefits of dietary fibre. Fibre draws water into the bowel, which can be beneficial for our bowel motions, but only if we’re adequately hydrated!

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How much fibre is recommended?

30g of dietary fibre is recommended each day for adults in the UK. It may be optimal to also try and have 30 different types of fibre rich food a week - to feed and improve the diversity of our gut microbiome - why not try and see how many different forms you can fit in? Foods are considered ‘high in fibre’ if they contain 6g or more per 100g, and they are considered a ‘source of fibre’ if they have 3g per 100g or more.

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What foods contain fibre?

Please note, in the table below the estimated fibre content of different foods is listed per 100g. We eat different amounts of different food, for example one cup of chickpeas is 164g, whereas a cup of raw spinach is only 30g. So please bear in mind your serving size when comparing different foods. 

The following foods fit within a Mediterranean style diet, as commonly patients undertake after the first 12 weeks of the Roczen plan. Although a good intake of fibre can help get your digestive system moving, if you are experiencing changes to your normal bowel habit or any discomfort, please discuss this with your Roczen clinician or GP.

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