The Case for fibre

There are 2 schools of thought about fibre, but let’s be clear – the human body is designed to use fibre. The more healthy fibre you get in your diet, the better your digestive system functions. BUT it must be HEALTHY fibre – not wheat or grain fibre, it should be mostly vegetable fibre. It also maintains a steady WEIGHT, maintains healthy CHOLESTEROL levels and keeps you REGULAR.

Like so many other health issues, it all comes back to your gut. The health of your gut affects everything from your immune system to your moods. Poor diets have little fibre, are inflammatory and are full of processed food and sugar. If you don’t get enough fibre, you won’t have enough “food” to feed the healthy bacteria in the gut – it’s their favourite food. And this is KEY to good health. Healthy gut bacteria is everything.

Our digestive enzymes can’t break down the vegetable fibre, so it intact as it moves through the digestive tract. And as it travels, the healthy microbes in our gut feed off the fibre’s vitamins, nutrients, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Too little fibre will starve these microbes, some die off, others end up eating the mucus lining of the digestive wall, and it becomes permeable, known as Leaky Gut Syndrome. This makes you more prone to infection as well. This weakens the immune system, a large part of which depend on these microbes, the body becomes inflamed and we are more susceptible to illness and obesity.

How Much? Pretty well as much as you can because we just don’t get enough. Fibre-rich foods are a good start. Researchers have found in humans that the balance of bacteria in the gut can quickly change for the worse as soon you stop getting enough fibre. In general, women should get at least 30 grams of daily, while men should get at least 38. Some doctors say diabetics need at least 50g a day for good blood sugar control.

A low-carb diet is an excellent way to eat, but this also means cutting out grains which are a source of fibre, though a very ‘bad’ source of fibre in that they inflame the intestines, cause weight gain and generally are a bad idea. They also lacerate the sides of the colon and grains themselves lead to Leaky Gut Syndrome. And don’t think “whole grains” are any good – they have extremely negative effects that cancel out their so-called benefits, such as the presence of phytic acid, which interferes with the absorption of calcium, copper, iron, magnesium, and zinc.

Researchers found our hunter-gatherer ancestors got about 100g or more of fibre daily from roots, berries, leaves, and other plants. A staggering amount. Whatever you do, don’t suddenly introduce massive amounts of fibre – start slowly, and ALWAYS include more water. Anytime you introduce more protein or fibre into the diet, you add more water.

Best Sources of Fibre: these are generally vegetables and fruit, nuts, seeds, and in many cases a healthy fibre supplement (but there are good and bad ones here too, so be aware).

Good Food Fibre:

  • Avocado
  • Leafy greens
  • Cruciferous vegetables
  • Almonds and other nuts
  • Chia seeds
  • Prebiotic fibre (such as is found in MaxiPrebiotic
  • Berries

Adding fibre to your diet is probably the safest way to ensure you get enough.
Here are some good ways to do that:

(All available from our online store at https://sallyanncreed.co.za/shop)

Food Serving Fibre (g)
VEGETABLES
Artichoke, cooked 1 medium 10.3g
Asparagus, cooked 6 spears 1.8g
Brocolli, cooked ½ cup 2g
Brussel sprouts, cooked ½ cup 3g
Carrots, raw ½ cup 2.3g
Edamame beans, cooked ½ cup 4.3g
Peas, green, cooked ½ cup 5.6g
Potato/sweet with skin cooked 1 medium 3.3-4.3g
Spinach, cooked ½ cup 3.7g
FRUIT
Avocado ½ cup 6.7g
Cherries 20 3.4g
Guava 1 fruit 3g
Mango ½ fruit 1.7g
Orange 1 medium 2.3g
Pear 1 medium 5.3g
Raspberries/blackberries ½ cup 4-5g
WHOLE FOODS, NUTS, SEEDS, SUPPLEMENTS
Oats, cooked ¾ cup 2.8-3.5g
Beans, cooked ¾ cup 8.6g-13.6g
Chickpeas, cooked ¾ cup 5.5g
Lentils, cooked ¾ cup 6.2g
Chia seeds 1 tbsp 3.7-5g
Flaxseeds, ground 1 tbsp 1.9
Nuts ¼ cup 3-4g
Seeds ¼ cup 3-3.7g
MaxiPrebiotic Tsp serving 5.3g
Psyllium Husk 1 tsp 3.2g-4g

Ref: Canadian Nutrient File 2015.

Related articles

sarcopeniablog

Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, a Greek term for “poverty of the flesh, ” describes the loss of muscle mass, function and strength from the ageing process. This results in a decreased quality of life, increased falls and injury and inability to perform daily tasks.  “Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the...
Blog_ImmunoDerm

Food and supplements for skin health

This week’s article on foods for your skin is inspired by two articles the office was reading this week. The first article from Cosmetics, a peer-reviewed journal and the second is a 15-year long 2020 study. In the long-term study, they looked at over 700 participants over 45 years of...
Blog_ChocMacadamias

Chocolate Macadamia Nuts

Really – there is nothing better than the deliciousness that you will experience in these air-roasted, chocolate-covered macadamia nuts. An earthy, natural and healthy dessert snack. When feeling like a sweet treat why compromise in health. There’s nothing quite like the combination of smooth, pure sugar-free chocolate and rich, buttery...
Blog_ZincCollagen

Why Zinc is Critical to collagen absorption

…and what about VITAMIN C? The wonderful thing about taking PURE Hydrolysed Collagen, is that it is easily absorbed, instantly, from the stomach – however there’s a caveat – you need to have the right environment to do so. Collagen-repairing enzymes in the human body are all ZINC-BASED. If you...
Blog_Pirosil

The truth about Pirosil

When we hear the word ‘additive’, we immediately think ‘danger zone’! With growing consciousness around what we put into our bodies, labels that include ingredients such as additives, preservatives, colourants or anything with an ‘E’ followed by a bunch of numbers, are a definite no-no. At Sally-Ann Creed, we advocate...
Blog_Fats2

The facts about saturated fats

The current WHO guidelines on saturated fat are to keep them <10% of your daily calorie intake. The American Heart Association recommends even lower intakes of saturated fats, at <5-6% total calories. Historically, the health professional guidelines have always had straightforward messages: higher saturated fat levels equated to higher cholesterol...