Fibre Foods
Powerful fibre foods that can inject a big dose of healthy vitamins and minerals
Good Fibre Foods
Broccoli is a powerhouse food packing a heavyweight nutrient punch in terms of vitamins and minerals with a healthy jab of fibre. Peas and beans have a healthy dose of fibre as do; sweetcorn, spinach, brussel sprouts, kale, turnip and greens all have fibre in abundance. Potato skins are rich in fibre, and you don’t have to stick to just baked potatoes to eat the skin.
Instead of peeling, scrub with a vegetable knife and use as normal for extra fibre, vitamins and minerals. Finally wholegrain and wholewheat food varieties are high in fibre and make a good contribution to a healthy daily intake.
As many may be aware, some forms of fibre are showing in studies to have health benefits when isolated. Beta-glucan isolated from oats is one such fibre fraction. Outside the science lab there is no need to focus so precisely, science has not isolated the action of all the components of what we call fibre as of yet. This being the case the best course of action is to eat a variety in a healthy diet to get all the possible benefits you can.
If it’s a fruit or vegetable and it is whole, it is going to have fibre. Even dried fruits, coconut and bananas make a healthy contribution.
In the UK a food can be labelled ‘high fibre’ if it contains more than 6g of fibre per 100g of the product.
Insoluble Fibre
This type of fibre does not dissolve in water and cannot be digested.
Instead insoluble fibre passes through the body attracting water to it. Indigestibility and the fact that it draws water into the gastrointestinal tract make insoluble fibre a great way to prevent constipation
With a healthy insoluble fibre intake stools are soft and easy to pass – which is a great way to prevent diverticular disease – a condition that affects up to one in two people over 50, of those one in 20 with develop further complications.
Soluble fibre
Soluble fibre dissolves in water forming a gel.
In the body this gel binds with other contents of the stomach. This means that digestion is slowed for whatever is bound in the gel.
Soluble fibre does not pass through the intestines and out, once it reaches the colon it ferments. This produces gas, but much more importantly fermentation results in additional nutrient absorption.
The fermentation action of healthy colon bacteria also releases short-chain fatty acids.
We are still discovering the health benefits of the colonic bacterial fermentation of soluble fibre, including the suppression of cholesterol production, stabilisation of blood glucose levels, as well as promoting a healthy immune system.
Recently a number of soluble fibre products have been developed; they are coming to the market and being tested right now.
Further Articles
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