What is fibre?

Fibre is a nutrient that is a type of carbohydrate. Dietary fibre comes from plants. Fibre can't be broken down in your small intestine (first section of your gut). It's digested by the bacteria in your lower gut to produce substances that help keep you healthy.

Eating plenty of fibre may reduce your chance of developing:

• obesity
• type 2 diabetes
• heart disease
• high cholesterol
• bowel cancer
• diverticular disease
• constipation
• haemorrhoids

Because high-fibre foods help fill you up, they tend to make you eat less and help you keep to a healthy weight.

Foods high in fibre help to keep your digestive system healthy. They are also good sources of vitamins and minerals, and other important nutrients.

What foods contain fibre?

There are many types of fibre. You should eat a variety of fibre containing foods for a balanced healthy diet. Often fibre is grouped into soluble or insoluble.

Soluble fibre

Soluble fibre dissolves in water. It's found in:

• oats and barley
• legumes — split peas, dried beans such as red kidney beans, baked beans and lentils
• fruit
• vegetables

Some foods that contain soluble fibre can help to lower your blood cholesterol levels when eaten as part of a diet that is also low in saturated fat.

Soluble fibre can also help to stabilise your blood glucose level if you have diabetes.

Insoluble fibre

Insoluble fibre is a type of fibre that doesn't dissolve in water. It's found in:

• high-fibre and whole grain breads and cereals
• the outer skins of fruit and vegetables
• nuts and seeds

Because insoluble fibre absorbs water, it helps to make your stool (poo) soft and bulky. This helps keep your bowel movements (poos) regular.

Resistant starch

Resistant starch is another type of carbohydrate that isn't easily absorbed. Different ways of cooking food can create different amounts of resistant starch. For example, resistant starch is found in:

• slightly undercooked ('al dente') pasta
• cooked but cooled potatoes (including potato salad) pasta and rice
• under-ripe bananas
• beans
• lentils

In general, foods that are less processed contain more resistant starch.

An important benefit of resistant starch is that it ferments. Fermenting produces substances that help to keep the lining of your bowel healthy.

How much fibre do I need?

The recommended intake of dietary fibre for adults is:

• 25g a day for females
• 30g a day for males

Most Australians eat less than this.

How can I get enough fibre?

It's important to include different types of fibre in your diet, from a variety of plant foods. To get enough fibre every day, The Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend that you eat:

• at least 2 serves of fruit each day
• at least 5 serves of vegetables each day including legumes (also known as 'pulses')
• a variety of wholegrain or wholemeal foods

The Australian Dietary Guidelines provide the following guidelines for servings each day:

• children aged 2 to 18 years should have 4 – 7 serves of wholegrain foods
• pregnant people should have 8 – 9 serves of wholegrain foods
• adults aged 19 to 50 years should have 6 serves of wholegrain foods
• males aged over 51 years should have 4.5 – 6 serves of wholegrain foods
• females aged over 51 years should have 3 – 4 serves of wholegrain foods

It may seem difficult to eat enough serves of wholegrain foods every day. Try to eat wholegrain or wholemeal varieties for half of your daily serves of bread and cereals. A serve of wholegrain or wholemeal foods is equal to:

• 1 slice of wholegrain bread or 1/2 a medium wholemeal bread roll
• 1/2 a cup of cooked brown rice, pasta, noodles or cooked porridge
• 2/3 cups of wholegrain breakfast cereal
• 1/4 cup of untoasted muesli

The combination of nutrients in food work together to give you health benefits. So, it's better to eat wholefoods, rather than take dietary fibre supplements.

Limit the amounts of food you eat that are high in processed fats or contain added salt or sugar.

More tips for including fibre in your diet

• Enjoy wholegrain, wholemeal or mixed grain bread instead of white bread.
• Use wholemeal pasta instead of white pasta.
• Try brown rice or quinoa instead of white rice with casseroles or curries.
• Use wholemeal flour to thicken sauces, gravies and stews.
• Try wholegrain, seeded or wholemeal crisp breads with vegetable dips.
• Know which packaged foods are high in fibre by reading the nutrient panel on the pack.

Dietary fibre absorbs fluid so it's important to drink enough liquid, including water.

Can I eat too much fibre?

There is no upper limit on how much fibre you can eat.

The more fibre we eat, the more flatulence (wind) we produce. While it can be embarrassing, this is normal and fibre is still good for your health.

Resources and support

Visit Eatforhealth.gov.au for information on healthy eating.

Nutrition Australia is another good place to go to for factsheets about food and nutrition. You can also find some new recipes to make.

The Cancer Council has tips to support eating well and managing your weight to reduce your chance of getting cancer.

For more information about high fibre foods and your diet contact an accredited practising dietitian.

For information about fibre and diet in other languages visit Health Translations.

You can also call the healthdirect helpline on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria). A registered nurse is available to speak with you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.