Did you know that more than 90% of the UK population is deficient in dietary fiber. And, research suggests that by eating just 8g more a day can reduce your risk of dying from any chronic illness by up to 27%. By addressing this single deficiency, it could reshape global healthcare most significantly - now that’s food for thought.
The recommended requirement is at least 25-30g of dietary fiber a day, whilst as it stands in the UK, on average women consume just 17 grams and men just 20 grams.
What is Fiber in Food?
Fiber is the name given to complex carbohydrates that are found in all plant-based foods. Essential, you can think of fiber as the stuff that gives plants their structure, and the ability to stand upright. In humans, we have our bones, ligaments and muscles - plants have fiber.
What Foods are High in Fiber?
The foods highest in fiber in them are fruits, vegetables, pulses and grains (wholemeal).
WHAT IS FIBER GOOD FOR?
Fiber does not get broken down in the gut nor is it absorbed, it simply passes through the small intestine to the large to then be excreted. It acts more as a lubricant for the other food to pass through easily. Without fiber, food congestion can become more frequent leading to constipation, indigestion and other digestion issues.
Our gut is home to 1000 different types of bacteria, making up a community of 100 trillion microbes. Without this incredible army of small but mighty microbiota we would not be around. They fight off the bacteria that cause us harm and thrive in a happy, clean and healthy environment.
Think of you being one of the many bacteria’s in the gut and the gut is our world. If refined sugars, such as cakes, sweets and chocolate bars were our only nutrition we could surely begin to suffer from malnutrition leading to obesity and other dangerous diseases. But if we are given a balanced diet made up of protein and fiber many nutritious fruits and vegetables then we will flourish and bloom.
Due to the common diet now containing ultra processed foods that are high in sugar, gluten, emulsifiers and preservatives which feed the ‘bad’ bacteria, it is shown we must increase our fiber intake to speed up the digestion process.
Fiber-rich foods are denser and take longer to chew which decreases hunger and cravings possibly reducing the risks of obesity. Fiber also stimulates our microbiota therefore, causing a lower risk of colon cancer and other dangerous diseases in the gut such as ulcers, inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome.
HOW TO GET MORE FIBER IN YOUR DIET
The best way to get more fiber in your diet is simply to eat more plants. Aim to eat your 5 a day. While more recent research suggests that you should aim to consume at least 30 different sources of plant and fiber each week. This can be hard, as most of us probably can’t list 30 different plants that they buy in the supermarket.
That’s where Indi Body can help. Containing 11 different sources of some of the most nutrient dense plants on earth, this can boost your fiber intake, as well as prebiotic diversity to support your gut most effectively.
Within just 2 weeks of taking Body daily you’ll notice a big shift in everything from your digestion to improvements to your skin, hair and nails as you fine tube your engine to work at it’s best. As they say, the skin is the window to your health.
THE VERDICT
So, let’s love our gut microbiota and add more fiber into our diets. Here are a few easy tips:
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Make a morning smoothie, and add Indi Body to supercharge it!
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Put more vegetables into your omelette
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Why not change your white rice to cauliflower rice?
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Sneak it into family favourites – spinach, onions, tomatoes, peas and broccoli can slide in anywhere (pasta bakes, vegetable bolognese or lasagne)
