Fibre is an important part of your diet. It can help keep your digestion regular, control your cholesterol, decrease risk of heart disease, reduces chances of developing type 2 diabetes, and even prevents certain types of cancer.
How much do you need? In general, adult men up to age 50 should aim to consume at least 38 grams of dietary fibre each day; for women up to age 50, it’s at least 25 grams of fibre daily. After age 50, fibre needs decrease slightly.
Unfortunately most people don't meet these recommendations. In fact, on average, people consume only 14 grams of fibre per day.
Your individual daily fibre intake goal is really based on your calorie consumption. It is recommended that you get 14 grams of fibre for every 1,000 calories you eat. So, for example, if you eat 2,500 calories a day diet, you should be getting about 35 grams of fibre a day.
Tips for boosting your fibre intake According to Sari Greaves, RD, CDN, a national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, there are a number of ways you can increase the amount of fibre in your diet:
Have vegetable-based meals. "Add vegetables to sandwiches, pizza, and pasta," Greaves suggests. When you’re filling up your plate, first load half with non-starchy vegetables, then one-fourth with starch, such as breads, potatoes, or starchy vegetables such as corn, peas, and squash, and the last one-fourth with lean protein, like fish, skinless poultry, and lean meats. Choose whole-wheat flour products. Whole grains consist of three layers: the outer bran, the middle endosperm, and the inner germ. Refined grains like white flour, on the other hand, are stripped of the fibre-rich bran and germ layers, leaving only the starchy endosperm. When you choose brown rice instead of white rice and whole-grain breads and crackers instead of white or processed ones, you are boosting the amount of fibre in your diet. To determine if a packaged food is whole-grain, look for the word "whole," as in whole wheat, on the ingredient list, which means that all of the grain layers are still intact.
Skip the juice. Fruit juice doesn't contain as much fibre as whole fruits. Your best bet is to choose fruits that contain edible seeds, such as kiwi, blueberries, raspberries, and figs, Greaves says.
Eat more beans. Greaves recommends that you incorporate more fibre-rich beans into your diet by eating bean-based soups, adding black beans or peas to your salad, or stirring kidney beans into your chilli. It is best to eat fresh or frozen beans, but if you eat the canned variety, look for labels that say "no salt added" or rinse them before you eat them, since canned beans tend to be higher in sodium.
Snack on high-fibre foods. Turn to high-fibre foods anytime you reach for a snack. Greaves suggests snacking on baby carrots, celery, and sliced cucumbers dipped in humus; microwaved frozen edamame (soy beans); or dried fruit mixed with fat-free popcorn, nuts, and seeds.
Keep the skins on. Eating potatoes with the skin is a great way to increase your fibre intake.
When you first begin incorporating more fibre into your diet, it is not uncommon to experience abdominal cramping, bloating, and gas. You can help prevent this discomfort by making these changes gradually and increasing the amount of liquids you drink along with your fibre intake.
Before long, your body will adjust to the change, and you will be reaping all of the health benefits of a high-fibre diet.
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