You know you should eat more fibre, but the thought of living on dry brown bread and bran flakes is enough to put anyone off. Luckily, fibre is found in a wide range of plant foods, and a few simple supermarket swaps can make your food healthier, tastier and more satisfying – without feeling restrictive.
A huge 96% of us don’t get enough fibre, according to the most recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey, so eating more is something we should all be doing. Fibre is a type of carbohydrate, but compared with other carbs and nutrients like protein and fat, it’s a bit of a rebel. That’s because, unlike the rest, fibre resists digestion by your digestive enzymes in your gut. Instead, it passes through to the large intestine, landing on the kitchen table (as it were) of your gut microbes. Your gut microbes then feed on the fibre, making molecules for your health.
But that’s not all that fibre does. Even before it gets to your microbes, it’s making a difference. It gives you longer-lasting energy by slowing down the release of sugar into your bloodstream. It also helps to curb hunger, adding bulk to the food in your stomach and stretching the walls of your gut so your brain knows you’re full and satisfied.
And it’s important for heart health, too. Fibre helps to lower your ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol levels, by pulling bile acids (made partly from cholesterol) out of your gut as waste. These bile acids need replacing, so your body pulls cholesterol away from your blood to make more. That’s one reason why eating more fibre is related to a lower risk of heart disease.
So now you know why fibre matters. But how to get more of it? Fibre is found in a wide range of plant foods, including wholegrains, beans, lentils, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds. Beans and lentils, wholegrains, nuts and seeds all tend to contain more fibre than most fruits and vegetables, but really we need a variety of different fibre types, across a wide range of plant foods, to feel our best and support our health for years to come.
Don’t let companies fool you into thinking eating more fibre is complicated. Here are some easy everyday supermarket swaps – no expensive supplement or gimmick required.
1. Stir flaxseeds and chia seeds into your morning yogurt
Tiny but mighty, flaxseeds and chia seeds will help you boost your fibre intake without you really noticing. Just a spoonful added to yogurt, porridge or smoothies can add extra fibre, healthy fats and a bit more staying power to your breakfast. Ground flaxseeds are especially helpful because your body absorbs them more easily than whole ones.
2. Give rye bread a go instead of your usual loaf
Rye bread tends to contain more fibre than standard white bread and has a denser texture that many people find more satisfying. It can help keep you feeling fuller for longer and works just as well for toast, sandwiches or eggs at lunch. If full rye feels a bit too much at first, try a rye and wheat mix loaf to ease yourself in.
3. Keep berries in the freezer for an easy fibre boost
Berries are some of the highest-fibre fruits you can buy, and frozen berries are often cheaper than fresh. Their fibre content comes from their small seeds (think raspberries and blackberries) and this holds true for other fruit, such as passionfruit and kiwis.
4. Blend, mash or stir beans into everyday meals
Beans are probably one of the cheapest fibre-rich foods in the supermarket, and they’re surprisingly easy to sneak into meals. Blend butter beans into sauces, stir lentils into pasta dishes or mash black beans into tacos and chilli. They make meals more filling, more nutritious and often stretch further, too.
5. Fancy something crunchy? Try roasted beans or popcorn instead of crisps
If you love a savoury snack, you don’t have to give up the crunch completely. Roasted chickpeas, broad beans and plain popcorn can all give you that crispy snack feeling while adding more fibre than standard crisps. Make them yourself by draining and rinsing the cooked chickpeas or beans under the tap, patting dry with a paper towel, tossing in spices and sea salt, and roasting in the oven until dry and crunchy.
6. Reach for almonds over cashews
All nuts contain fibre, but almonds tend to contain more than cashews, making them a simple swap if you snack on nuts regularly. Pair a handful of almonds with a piece of fruit, and you’ve had an extra 5g of fibre already.
7. Make your next pasta wholewheat
Wholewheat pasta has a bit more bite than white pasta, but once it’s covered in your favourite sauce, most people barely notice the difference. What you do notice is that it tends to keep you feeling fuller for longer.
8. Swap savoury biscuits for oatcakes with toppings
Instead of the usual rice cake or cheese biscuit, try oatcakes instead. Oats contain a type of fibre called beta-glucans, which are great for your heart health. Add different toppings such as cottage cheese and crunchy fermented veggies, or hummus with chutney.
9. Try pearl barley instead of rice
Brown rice can be a bit deceptive when it comes to fibre – while it does contain slightly more fibre than white, the difference is not actually as big as you might think. Pearl barley, on the other hand, contains much more fibre and is affordable, too. It has a slightly nutty flavour and works brilliantly in salads, curries and stews – make a batch at the weekend and add to different dishes throughout the week.
10. Choose dark chocolate when you want something sweet
Chocolate might not be the first food that comes to mind when you think about healthy eating, but dark chocolate is actually surprisingly high in fibre, thanks to the higher percentage of cocoa solids it contains. Dark chocolate contains more cocoa solids than milk chocolate, which means it usually provides more fibre and less sugar, too. Go for 80% dark – if you find it too bitter, pair it with dried fruit for some sweetness and a dose of extra fibre.
Dr Emily Leeming is the author of Fibre Power, out now
