Eat more plants for adequate intake of dietary fibre

Get your fibre requirement sorted in the morning with overnight oats. — Photos: 123rf.com

DIETARY fibre is an essential component of a healthy diet. High fibre foods have a wide range of health benefits. Yet, most people do not meet their adequate daily requirement of fibre.

What is fibre?

Dietary fibre is the indigestible part of plant foods. It passes through the body undigested, keeping you feeling full. It also regulates the body’s use of sugar, helping to keep hunger and blood sugar in check. The recommended daily intake of dietary fibre is 20-30g.

What are the benefits?

Dietary fibre is important for health and provides numerous benefits, including:

• Promoting bowel movement and prevent constipation.

• Helping reduce weight and body fat.

• Allowing better control of blood sugar and lowering diabetes risk.

• Promoting healthy balance of gut microbiota.

• Reducing risk of cardiovascular disease.

Snacking on fruit will boost a child's fibre intake.

Where can you get fibre?

Dietary fibre can be found in various foods including whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. These foods are also rich in other essential nutrients including phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals, giving you additional benefits.

A cup of rolled oats (96g) and one cup of red spinach (47.4g) has contain 0.7g of fibre each while a cup of chickpea (185.8g) has 5.8g of it. One big slice of seedless guava (110.5g) has 7.5g of fibre.

How can you increase daily fibre intake?

Achieving the recommended daily intake is easier than you think. Here are a few simple things you can do right away:

• Eat fruits and vegetables with their skins.

• Add beans or lentils to salads, soups, and side dishes.

• Replace white rice, bread and pasta with brown rice and wholegrain products.

• Choose breakfast cereals that list wholegrains (e.g. brown rice, oatmeal, barley) as their first ingredient.

• Snack on raw vegetables or fruits, instead of chips, crackers, or chocolate bars.

• Choose pre-packaged foods with higher dietary fibre content.

Sample menu to get your recommended fibre intake

• Breakfast: 4 tbsp of barley (1.6g), 1 medium banana (2.4g)

• Lunch: 2 cups of brown rice (1.8g), 1 cup of carrot (4g), 2 small pieces of tempe (3.2g)

• Dinner: 2 slices of high-fibre bread (2.6g), 1 cup of baked beans (7.6g), 1 medium potato (2.6g)

• Snacks: 1 medium pear (4g), ½ cup of peanut (4.8g)

• Total = 34.6g of fibre

It is actually easy to meet the fibre intake recommendation. All you have to do is make a conscious effort to include foods high in fibre into your diet to ensure a fitter, healthier you. A little research and planning will go a long way.

Dr Amutha Ramadas is a nutritionist and a council member of the Nutrition Society of Malaysia. This story also appears on Positive Parenting, an education initiative by the Malaysian Paediatric Association. For more articles and expert advice, check out mypositiveparenting.org.