- Dietary fibre is crucial for good health, especially as people age, supporting robust digestion, improving gut microbiome, regulating blood sugar, and lowering the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and bowel cancer.
- Despite its extensive benefits, fibre is often overlooked, with most adults consuming only about 20g daily, significantly less than the recommended 30g.
- Katie Sanders, a dietitian and nutritionist, says fibre has lots of different roles in gut and digestive health.
- There are two main types of dietary fibre, soluble (found in oats, beans) and insoluble (found in fruit skins, stalks), both essential for a healthy diet and often present together in fruits and vegetables.
- Simple strategies to increase daily fibre intake include swapping to higher-fibre breakfast cereals, choosing wholemeal bread, incorporating frozen or tinned fruits and vegetables, and adding linseeds or kiwis to meals.
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