Healthy Heart Tip: We Love Fibre

Heart Research UK Healthy Heart Tip, written by the Health Promotion and Education Team at Heart Research UK

Healthy Heart Tip: We Love Fibre

In this week’s Healthy Tip, we show our affection for fibre (it is nearly Valentine’s Day after all) and discuss why it is such an important part of a healthy diet. We also give you some ideas on how you can increase the fibre content of your food intake.

Most of us know that fibre prevents constipation, but did you know that eating a high fibre diet can lower your risk of heart disease and stroke? Fibre is found in the plants we eat, such as fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, beans and nuts. We dig a little deeper into fibre below.

A high fibre diet

Adults should aim to consume 30g of fibre per day, yet the average fibre intake for adults in the UK is 18g – only 60% of the recommended daily intake. Diets that contain 30g or more of fibre per day are considered ‘high fibre diets’.

Try tracking your consumption for a few days to understand how much you’re eating and come up with a plan to eat more if needed. When reading food labels, a food is considered high fibre if it contains at least 6g of fibre per 100g. Opt for these foods where possible.

Fibre for a healthy gut

We tend to think about bacteria as harmful, however there are many bacteria that are good for our health, and lots of these live in our digestive systems. Did you know the number of bacteria living in your gut is almost ten times more than the number of cells you have in your body?

The good news is, many of these bacteria use fibre as food and it keeps them healthy, which in turn keeps you healthy. Make sure you eat a variety of different fibre-rich foods to feed the good bacteria and keep your gut happy.

Increase your intake

Aim to slowly increase your intake of fibre to at least 30g per day to help protect against cardiovascular disease and stroke. It’s a good idea to do this gradually to avoid any unpleasant symptoms such as bloating.

Make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids (6-8 glasses per day) when adding more fibre to your diet to keep everything moving nicely through your digestive system. See the chart above for some ideas to increase the fibre content of your usual meals.

For more tips on how to stay healthy, sign up for our weekly healthy tips at www.heartresearch.org.uk/healthy-tips.

To help keep your heart healthy, why not try out some of our Healthy Heart recipes from our website: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-recipes-2/.

Or have a look through our Healthy Heart cookbook filled with recipes from top chefs, celebrities and food bloggers: https://heartresearch.org.uk/heart-research-uk-cookbook/.