If you eat a standard American diet full of meat and animal products and processed foods, chances are you aren’t getting enough fibre. Meat has zero fibre and consuming it regularly can keep you from reaching the minimum 25-30g daily that is recommended. It is estimated that only 5% of people consume enough fibre, and on average eat only as much as 15g.
Fibre is only found in plant foods, and it is the part of the plant that you can’t digest. It is essential to get enough because it is vital for good health. Fibre assists with moving food through the body and it also affects the health of the millions of microbiota that live in the gut that help sustain the health of the gut mucosa, which in turn helps to keep pathogens at bay.
Action – There are two types of fibre – soluble and insoluble. Undissolved in water, insoluble fibre helps move food through the system and promotes regularity and helps prevent constipation. Good sources include wheat, whole wheat bread, whole grain couscous, brown rice, legumes, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes. Soluble fibre dissolves in water and helps to regulate blood sugar as well as to lower cholesterol levels. It is found in oatmeal, lentils, nuts, beans, apples and blueberries.
Most plant foods contain both types of fibre, so a diet rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will provide optimal fibre levels.
Steps – Making simple substitutions in your diet can increase your fibre consumption noticeably. Eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice. Choose cereals and bread made from whole grains. White bread, pasta and white rice should be replaced with brown rice and whole grain products. Eat beans or legumes instead of meat. These are all simple substitutions that add up to an overall healthier diet.
Why It Makes You Feel Better – Adequate fibre intake helps you feel full, which assists with weight loss. But the benefits don’t stop there. It can reduce the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, diverticulosis and constipation. Studies suggest that increasing your dietary fibre intake, especially from cereals, is associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Include a variety of high-fibre foods in your diet and don’t overemphasize any one type of food, as this can limit your capacity to eat a well-rounded diet with adequate vitamins and minerals.
Example – Start consuming more fibre by focusing on whole-grain cereal for breakfast instead of bacon and eggs, snacking on fruit, substituting whole-wheat flour for at least half of the flour you use in baking, and making vegetables the main component of a meal. The importance of consuming enough fibre can’t be stressed enough, and its lack is a major contributor to the unhealthy society we live in today.
In Africa, there are studies that explore why heart disease is virtually nonexistent. While the Africans die from many causes, the number one killer in the rest of the world isn’t one of them. In Uganda, the diet was researched and they were found to eat an average of 77g of fibre a day.
By turning your meals into plant-based instead of meat-sweet, you can get all of the fibre your body needs to work at its best.