How hard is it to consume the recommended amount of fibre every day?
It’s the nutrient 90% of us aren’t getting enough of – so just how hard is it to consume the recommended amount of fibre? Laura Wingrove monitored her intake as she tried to meet those guidelines. Fibre is by no means a glamorous nutrient, often associated with foods that have cardboard-like taste and texture, like multigrain crackers. It doesn’t seem to get the same airtime as its more popular cousins, protein and fat. Funnily, there isn’t really a sexy way to sell regular bowel movements. But there’s so much more to fibre than a happy stomach, explains Dr Hazel Wallace, aka The Food Medic, who has investigated the nutrient and its benefits in depth throughout her career. “In addition to keeping our digestive system healthy and preventing constipation, a high-fibre diet is associated with reducing the risk of heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer.” Despite its health benefits, 90% of us aren’t getting enough of it. Just 4% of women and 13% of men aged 19–64 consume the daily recommended amount for adults of 30g. Keen to find out if I’m eating enough, I decided to take a magnifying glass to my own diet. Why I was missing out on fibre “Fibre’s really not that hard to find, once we know where to look for it,” explains Wallace. “It’s in all forms of plant foods – fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds – plus tinned, fresh and frozen all count.” As an example, one apple contains 1.2g of fibre, a jacket potato with its skin contains 4.7g and reduced-salt baked beans in tomato sauce have 9.8g of fibre, says the NHS. So, prior to writing my diet down, I was quietly confident I was hitting the 30g a day recommendation. I eat my crusts (and have the curly hair to prove it!), often add green leaves to my plate and am keen on fruit too. While I’m not vegetarian, my diet is vegetarian-centric – not so much due to veggies being more fibre-rich as them being cheaper than meat. That being said, organisation isn’t my strong suit, meaning some days I’ll have a wholesome breakfast (think muesli with yoghurt and berries), and others none at all; at lunch I’m either prepped with something relatively nutritious or I grab something out (usually a cheese toastie or something from the nearest supermarket’s to-go section). My evening meal will be dictated by what’s in the fridge and cupboard, so its health credentials often rely on whether I’ve managed to go shopping recently. It might be fish with a big, hearty salad one day, and a quick pasta dish the next. I tracked my diet over three typical working days and the results were quite surprising. I found on the days I ate lunch out or skipped breakfast, my diet was high in ultra-processed foods and significantly lower in fibre. On average, I was getting around 13.5g of fibre a day. Not reaching your fibre goals for these reasons is common, says Wallace. “The typical diet in the UK is heavily reliant (for up to 60% of its dietary energy) on highly processed foods, which typically have low levels of fibre. These foods are more readily available to us, especially when we’re on the go, and often cheaper than wholefoods. “Food advertising and promotions also tend to be skewed towards processed convenience foods and confectionery compared to fresh fruit and veg.” I ask Wallace for advice. What food swaps would help me reach that magic number of grams per day? Here’s what she said. Go for wholegrains: “I’m sure you know this already, but opting for wholegrain and brown versions of breads, pastas and rice is a simple way to increase fibre without changing the price of your ingredients or the meal very much.” Make breakfast count: “Start the day with fibre by choosing an oat-based breakfast such as porridge, muesli or homemade granola, or wholegrain breakfast cereal. If you have no time for breakfast, grab a banana, some rye crackers and peanut butter – and you’re good to go.” Don’t focus on removing things from your diet: “Think about how you can add to your meal – not take away from it – by incorporating flaxseed, mixed seeds or a handful of nuts into your breakfast or lunchtime salad.” Snack wisely: “At snack time, choose a high-fibre snack like oat cakes or apple topped with hummus or peanut butter.” Embrace veggie substitutes: “If you’re a meat eater, swap half of your minced meat dishes – think lasagne and cottage pie – for lentils or even walnuts, pulsed in the food processor. This works particularly well for bolognese.” Pretty simple take-homes. But what would be even easier is if I could just take a fibre supplement instead. Wallace advises against that, though. “Supplements can’t replace the benefits of consuming food in its natural form, because not only are you getting the fibre but you’re also getting the other important vitamins and minerals found in the food. Only in very specific cases would I recommend a supplement.” With no quick-fix option, I spend three days altering my diet following Wallace’s advice. The plan to increase my fibre intake I start each day with wholegrains for breakfast. To stop the temptation of ultra-processed foods, I prep lunch in advance and make sure I have all the ingredients in my cupboard for planned-ahead dinners. I thought doing this would take loads of time but, in reality, it was a really quick job each day. It was enjoyable too: finding different recipes to try out that were both fibre rich and fitted with my tastes had me experimenting with new dishes and mixing up mealtimes. Having planned ahead, cooking was stress free, and taking the time to have breakfast every day meant that I wasn’t desperately throwing food together for lunch without considering how good it was for me. I found the food I ate far more interesting and delicious when I gave it proper thought and, given that vegetables are often such good sources of fibre, I wasn’t spending any more money than I usually would, either. The results It’s difficult to see any long-term benefit in three days, but I did notice a few immediate effects: I was more ‘regular’, for starters. It also felt like my energy levels had lifted. Naturally, foods higher in fibre help with energy regulation – I felt fuller for longer and didn’t experience any afternoon crashes (not skipping breakfast probably had an impact here, in and of itself). This improved energy benefited my fitness routine too: unsurprisingly, fuelling up properly is great for exercise. What surprised me the most over the three days was that I felt as though my sleep improved and I was better rested each morning. I had a quick read to see if there was any evidence behind this and although very limited, there does seem to be a little research that suggests consuming a high-fibre diet, such as the Mediterranean diet, can lead to better sleep quality. Those benefits are more than enough to make me focus more on fibre in the future. Still, a healthy diet needs to fit around me and my lifestyle. So, while I’ll make an effort to have overnight oats waiting for me in the morning and try to spend 20 minutes each week menu planning, I won’t be swapping all my pasta to brown, nor will I realistically remember to bring my lunch to work every day. But I won’t be disheartened if there are a few lower fibre days every now and then: I’m not aiming for perfection, just better balance. Originally published September 2023