Many people don’t get enough fibre. In the UK, the average daily intake of fibre for adults is about 20g. You should aim for at least 30g a day as part of a healthy balanced diet.
Children don’t need as much fibre in their diet as older teenagers and adults, but they still need more than they get currently:
- 2 to 5 year olds: need about 15g of fibre a day
- 5 to 11 year olds: need about 20g
- 11 to 16 year olds: need about 25g
Getting enough fibre can help reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer, and can also improve digestive health. Choosing foods with fibre also makes us feel fuller, as well as helping with digestion and prevent constipation.
This advice should be adapted according to your medical history and tolerance level. If you have conditions such as IBS, you may find fermentable fibre in larger amounts causes bloating, gas and diarrhoea.
Ask
Do you feel you eat enough fibre rich foods?
Do you suffer constipation?
Are you aware of which foods are high in fibre?
Assist
Tips to increase in fibre:
- Choose higher fibre breakfast cereal (weetabix, shredded wheat or porridge oats).
- Choose wholemeal or granary breads, or wholegrains such as whole wheat pasta, bulgar wheat or brown rice.
- Potatoes with skins on.
- Add pulses such as lentils, chickpeas, beans to stews, curries and salads.
- Have 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day.
- Look on ingredient labels for foods high in fibre (6g per 100g) or that are considered a source of fibre (3g or more per 100g).
- Other high fibre food sources include nuts and see and other wholegrains such as barley and rye.
- Remember to drink a good amount of fluid as you increase your fibre.
Act
Provide NHS Tayside ‘Your Guide to Healthy Eating’ and NHS Tayside ‘Your Vegetarian Guide to Healthy Eating’ leaflets
Provide pdf - Fun way to Fibre