Few people in the UK (about 9%) eat as much fibre as they need, which is at least 25g to 29g, according to a new analysis for the World Health Organization, with over 30g probably more beneficial still. That is a lot of fibre. These are foods that can help.
Cereals. Wholegrain cereals are an obvious choice for breakfast. Oat-based muesli is good as long as it doesn’t have a lot of added sugar. Bran flakes contain about 8g of fibre in a 40g portion.
Bananas. They should be a bit green, said Prof John Cummings of Dundee University, one of the study authors. At that stage it is starch with fibre-like properties, he said. “As it ripens and becomes yellow and black, it becomes sugar.” There is about 3g of fibre in a medium banana.
Apples. A small apple weighing around 80g has 2-3g of fibre.
Nuts. Thirty grams of nuts contains about 2g of fibre.
Wholemeal or wholegrain bread. This has about 2g of fibre per slice. White bread has had most of the fibre removed. “It is a no-brainer,” said Cummings. “Eat wholemeal bread.”
Baked potatoes. A medium-sized potato with the skin on contains about 4g of fibre.
Wholemeal pasta. 75g of wholewheat spaghetti contains about 8g of fibre.
Pulses. Beans, peas and lentils are all good sources of fibre. There is 6.8g of fibre in 150g of baked beans; 100g of boiled lentils contains 8g.
