Why do I need fibre in my diet?
There are many reasons why you need fibre,
including:
- fibre decreases the time that waste stays in the bowel
- It increases the bulk and weight of our stools
- It encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria in the
bowel1
All of these help to maintain a healthy bowel. To get the best
out of eating fibre you need to drink water, as dehydration may
cause constipation and increase the time that waste is left in the
bowel.
Evidence suggests that high fibre diets and increased physical
exercise are associated with a lower risk of bowel cancer (possibly
because both decrease the time that waste takes to pass through the
bowel).2,3
| Replace this low fibre
food... |
With this higher fibre
food... |
| White bread |
Granary bread |
| White bagels |
Wholegrain bagels |
| Cornflakes |
Muesli or wholegrain cereals |
| White pasta |
Whole wheat or spelt pasta |
| White rice |
Brown basmati or wholegrain rice |
| Carton of fresh fruit juice |
Piece of fresh fruit |
| Red meat |
Beans or lentils |
| Biscuits |
Oatcakes |
| Crisps |
Vegetable sticks |
| Sweets |
Dried fruit |
| Pack of salted peanuts |
Unsalted mixed nuts and seeds |
| Chips |
Baked, steamed or boiled potatoes in their
skin |
Five portions of fruit AND vegetables per day
should provide us with enough fibre. How to easily get
five portions of fruit and vegetables per day:
- Add a handful of grapes, strawberries or a chopped apple to
your porridge or muesli in the morning
- Have two satsumas as a morning snack
- Add a handful of sliced pepper, cucumber and carrot to your
lunchtime sandwich
- Drink one glass of fresh fruit juice (not from concentrate) in
the afternoon
- Add two broccoli florets and half a courgette to your dinner
plate
ANY vegetable counts towards your 5 A DAY(except potatoes which are classified as
starches).
Footnotes:
(1) Murray M (2005) The Encyclopaedia of Healing Foods p77-78. New
York, Atria Books.
(2) Bingham SA et al (2003) Dietary fibre in food and protection
against colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation
into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): an observational study. The
Lancet 361, 91496-1500.
(3) Friedenreich C et al (2006) Physical Activity and Risk of Colon
and Rectal Cancers: The European Prospective Investigation into
Cancer and Nutrition. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and
Prevention 15, 2398-2407.
Last updated 17th January 2011
