By Teagan O–Connor Student Dietitian and Kylie Spicer, Dietitian
What is fibre?
Fibre is a trendy word you may have seen in the health scene lately, and it’s for good reason too! It is the indigestible part of wholegrains, fruits, vegetables and legumes. When we eat foods with fibre, the fibre passes through our digestive tract mostly unchanged and assists our body with many health benefits.
Fibre comes in three types: soluble, insoluble and resistant starch and provides different benefits depending on the type.
- Soluble – can assist in improving blood sugars and keeping you fuller for longer. Soluble fibre can be found in foods such as: avocado, oatmeal, apples, citrus, carrots, beans, barley, psyllium, black beans, lima beans, and broccoli.
- Insoluble – adds bulk to your stool and assists in preventing constipation. Insoluble fibre can be found in: nuts, beans, cauliflower, green beans, potato wheat bran and wholegrain foods.
- Resistant starch – helps to feed the healthy bacteria in the gut, reduces the risk of bowel cancer, fights inflammation, and may help with appetite regulation and insulin sensitivity. Resistant starch can be found in green bananas, cooked and cooled potato, rice and pasta, oats, lentils and barley.
Whether the type of fibre you’re eating is mainly soluble or insoluble, your body will thank you for its benefits.
Why is it important?
Having adequate dietary fibre each day is associated with many health benefits. Including:
- Normalized bowel movements – bulking up the stool can decrease the likelihood of constipation and make bowel movements easier to pass.
- Achieving a healthy weight – consumption of high fibre foods is linked with better satiety. These foods are also lower in energy, meaning you may feel fuller by eating fewer calories and be satisfied for longer.
- Decrease the risk of certain cancers – following a high fibre diet has been associated with a decreased likelihood of developing certain cancers such as bowel cancer.
- Stabilising blood sugar levels – soluble fibre can slow down the absorption of sugar and assist in stabilising blood sugar levels.
Recommendations are for adults to consume 25–35g of fibre each day. The best way to hit your daily fibre intake is to load up on whole foods like vegetables, fruits, beans and seeds.
Grow your fibre at home
With current concerns about the cost of fresh food, food gardening is a simple and tasty solution to eating more veggies resulting in increasing your whole family’s fibre intake. There are 6 high–value, easy–to–grow crops that you can plant now to save the most money:
- Leaves – loose–leaf lettuce, rocket, kale, spinach, silverbeet and chard are incredibly compact. When frequently harvested in small amounts, they can continue to produce fresh leaves for months.
- Quick growing salad additions – salad toppers such as radishes, baby beets and spring onions are quick growing and delicious additions to a meal.
- Peas and Beans – the epitome of plenty, once beans start cropping, they produce an abundance of beans when regularly picked. Peas and beans are healthy, filling and high in plant protein, making them a valuable crop.
- Celery – the compact shape of celery makes it an easy growing, space saving crop that is an important base ingredient for many soups, stews and salads. Being able to harvest it one stem at a time means minimal waste compared to purchasing from the shops.
- Mushrooms – home mushroom cultivation is surprisingly easy and becoming the latest trend. There are so many types of mushrooms you can easily grow at home, like oyster, lion’s mane and blue monster, button and portobello, with a few different growing methods. Check out some of the many online videos and get the mushroom growing bug!
- Herbs – herbs ramp up the tastiness of your cooking, but they can cost a small fortune in the shops because they are hard to store and don’t travel well. In a home garden, the likes of basil, parsley and coriander take up little room, and grow fast. They tend to self seed, meaning they will pop up year after year without much effort. Perennial herbs such as rosemary, sage and thyme are hardy once established.
Home gardening can provide a significant reward for a small investment both on the plate and in the wallet!
Kylie Spicer is warm, non–judgemental and passionate Dietitian/Nutritionist working at Bright Diets. She loves helping everyone reach their full potential by understanding how food affects their body. She enjoys working with people of all ages in a supportive and empowering way to assist them to improve their health and well–being. You can contact Kylie on 0419612807 or www.brightdiets.com.au or connect on the Bright Diets Facebook page.