Why fibre is your friend
Granskad av Dr Krishna Vakharia, MRCGPSenast uppdaterad av Victoria RawLast updated 7 Apr 2025
Uppfyller patientens redaktionella riktlinjer
- Ladda nerLadda ner
- Dela
- Language
- Diskussion
- Ljudversion
- Add to preferred sources on Google
It's recommended that we all try to eat 30 grams of fibre a day - but most of us only manage about 18 grams. We should try to eat at least 30 different vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans and pulses every week to meet our fibre needs. Here's why it's important to prioritise a fibre-rich diet.
I den här artikeln:
Video picks for Hälsosam kost
Fortsätt läsa nedan
Two types of fibre
There are two main types of fibre.
Insoluble fibre is sometimes called roughage. It isn't digested and absorbed from your gut, which means it stays in your bowels, helping to bulk out your poos.
Good sources of insoluble fibre include:
Wholemeal and wholegrain products.
Wheat bran.
Beans.
Bönor.
Many fruit and vegetables.
Soluble fibre dissolves in water to form a gel in your gut.
Good sources of soluble fibre include:
Havre.
Bananas.
Barley.
Potatoes.
Jordgubbar.
Plums.
Peaches.
Aubergines.
Apples.
Pears.
In many fruit and vegetables, the skin is high in insoluble fibre while the flesh is a good source of the soluble variety.
Why should you eat fibre?
Tillbaka till innehållIt's good for your bowels
There's no question that fibre in your diet is good for your bowels. As well as helping you avoid förstoppning, fibre can reduce your likelihood of developing other bowel problems such as painful piles och diverticular disease. It may even lower your chance of getting bowel cancer.
It stabilises cholesterol and blood sugar
But we now know that fibre can do much more. Soluble fibre in particular can help reduce your kolesterol and stabilise your blood sugar. This may protect against heart disease and even help stave off typ 2 diabetes.
It supports a healthy gut
We've also learnt much more in recent years about the importance of the gut microbiome - the trillions of bacteria and other microbes that live naturally in your large bowel. Without them, we wouldn't be able to digest food. Eating more fibre can create a healthy balance between good and bad bacteria.
About 70% of your immune cells - which help you fight off infection and reduce inflammation in the body - are found in your gut. Your gut is also packed with nerve cells, which communicate with your brain. A healthy gut microbiome has now been found to improve your ability to fight off infection, and your mood.
The wider the range of microbes in your gut, the more healthy it is. Having more friendly bacteria can crowd out germs that cause gut infections and may make it easier for you to keep a healthy weight. Many high-fibre foods act as prebiotics, feeding your healthy bacteria. Probiotic foods - such as live yoghurt, sauerkraut, and sourdough - and probiotic supplements can also help boost your friendly bacteria.
Fortsätt läsa nedan
Is fibre good or bad for IBS?
Tillbaka till innehållIrritabel tarm, (IBS) is a long-term gut condition thought to affect as many as 1 in 5 adults - especially women. It leads to symptoms such as colicky tummy pain, bloating, wind, constipation, and diarrhoea.
If you have IBS, you may find that eating more insoluble fibre actually makes your symptoms worse. However, gradually upping your intake of soluble fibre may relieve constipation, pain and bloating.
If you have IBS, it's also worth being aware that some high-fibre foods are high in FODMAPS. These are fermentable ingredients which mean the bacteria in your gut create gas as they're digesting them. If you're struggling to increase the fibre in your diet, a dietitian may be able to advise you on a low FODMAPS diet.
How to eat more fibre
Tillbaka till innehållIf you don't have IBS or another bowel condition that causes diarrhoea, there's very little downside - and lots of possible health benefits - to increasing the fibre in your diet.
If your diet has been low in fibre for years, you may want to up your intake gradually to avoid short-term bloating. Over time, your gut will get used to the higher levels of fibre and thank you for it.
At the very least, you should be aiming for at least five portions of fruit and vegetables a day. Fresh, frozen, and tinned varieties - in natural juices, not sweetened - all count.
One portion is the same as:
One large fruit - such as an apple or pear.
Two smaller fruits - such as satsumas or plums.
A dessert bowl of salad.
2-3 tablespoons of vegetables.
Here are some ways you can ensure you're getting enough fibre:
Many doctors now recommend aiming for 30 different fibre foods each week. This includes nuts, seeds, beans, and pulses as well as fruit and veg.
Try to focus more on veg than fruit. Although the natural sugar in fruit isn't as harmful as pure sugar, it can cause spikes in blood sugar.
Eat a rainbow of fruit and veg. All fruit and vegetables contain different vitamins, minerals and other micro-nutrients. Think orange carrots and oranges, red berries, purple cabbage and aubergines, white cauliflower or turnips and green from beans, broccoli and more.
Start your day with a high-fibre cereal or some porridge for soluble fibre.
Add extra vegetables to mince dishes, soups, stews and casseroles. Onions and root vegetables add flavour as well as fibre.
Bulk out stews and casseroles with a tin of lentils or beans. These are both delicious and economical, making meat go further.
If your digestion can tolerate it, eat the skin as well as the flesh of fruit and veg.
Try not to overcook vegetables - a little crunch left in them means the fibre hasn't broken down as much.
With thanks to My Weekly magazine, where this article was originally published.
Patient picks for Hälsosam kost
Kost och näring
What is clean eating and how can you start?
You don’t have to overthink what clean eating means - the name says it all. It’s about choosing foods that are minimally processed and as close to their natural state as possible. In this article, we take a closer look at what types of foods clean eating includes and how you can start incorporating them into your diet if it feels like the right fit for you.
av Victoria Raw
Kost och näring
What is fibremaxxing - and how healthy is it really?
There are plenty of so-called health or self-improvement trends circulating that lean on the idea of taking things to the extreme, dialling whatever they focus on up to eleven. Viral movements that promise to push everything ‘to the max’ - not just with one X, but two - may sound empowering at first glance, but pushing yourself to the edge is rarely the healthiest approach for your wellbeing. From Looksmaxxing to Sleepmaxxing, we now have Fibremaxxing - but what exactly is it, and is it really as questionable as the rest?
av Victoria Raw
Fortsätt läsa nedan
About the authorView full bio
Dr Sarah Jarvis
SEO Executive
MA (Cantab), BM, BCh (Oxon), DRCOG, FRCGP, MBE
After training in medicine at Cambridge and Oxford, Dr Sarah Jarvis MBE became a GP.
About the reviewerView full bio
Dr Krishna Vakharia, MRCGP
Chief Medical Officer for Health, Optum UK
MBChB, MRCGP(2013), BMedSci (hons), DFSRH, DRCOG, PGDipDerm (Distn)
Dr Krishna Vakharia is an NHS GP. She is also a regular examiner for the postgraduate Diploma in Practical Dermatology at Cardiff University as well as being the Chief Medical Officer for health at Optum UK.
Artikelhistorik
Informationen på denna sida är granskad av kvalificerade kliniker.
Next review due: 7 Apr 2028
7 Apr 2025 | Senaste versionen
14 Feb 2024 | Ursprungligen publicerad
Författad av:
Dr Sarah Jarvis
Fråga, dela, anslut.
Bläddra i diskussioner, ställ frågor och dela erfarenheter inom hundratals hälsorelaterade ämnen.
Känner du dig sjuk?
Bedöm dina symtom online gratis
Anmäl dig till Patientens nyhetsbrev
Din veckovisa dos av tydliga, pålitliga hälsoråd - skrivna för att hjälpa dig känna dig informerad, självsäker och i kontroll.
By subscribing you accept our Sekretesspolicy. Du kan avsluta prenumerationen när som helst. Vi säljer aldrig dina uppgifter.