Eating a high fibre diet can have many beneficial effects on your health, yet 8 out of ten people currently don’t eat enough. Not eating enough fibre can result in having poor digestive health, constipation, poor concentration, a lack of appetite and overall a general sense of poor well being. Foods naturally containing fibre are a wholesome and effective way to help improve the health of your digestive system as well as help to look after your heart, as part of a balanced diet. In general, adults should eat around 24g fibre each day (children 15g), yet most of us are only eating 12g each day.
In addition, high fibre foods can also satisfy hunger pangs as they tend to be very filling and give bulk to a meal - unlike fat which is very energy dense and often not very filling. An added benefit of this is that it can help maintain a healthy weight – as fewer calories are likely to be eaten.
There are two types of fibre in the diet; soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fibre, the type found in oats, can help to reduce cholesterol, as part of a healthy, lifestyle and a diet low in saturated fat. Having increased cholesterol levels increases your risk of developing heart disease.
Insoluble fibre, the type found in wheat, acts like a sponge in the large intestine helping to remove waste from the body and promote a general feeling of well being. Diets high in this type of fibre can also help to prevent the development of digestive disorders such as diverticular disease (where painful ‘pockets’ develop in the large intestine) and have even been shown to reduce your risk of developing bowel cancer.
