Dietary fibre refers to substances in plant foods which cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes.
There are two main types; soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre sources include grains like oats, barley, rye; fruits such as
Dietary fibre refers to substances in plant foods which cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes.
There are two main types; soluble and insoluble. Soluble fibre sources include grains like oats, barley, rye; fruits such as bananas and apples; beans and pulses and some root vegetables.
Insoluble fibres can be found in high-fibre breakfast cereals; wholemeal breads, pasta and brown rice; vegetables with skins and nuts and seeds.
Not consuming enough fibre can be a particular problem for people with coeliac disease, who have to eat a gluten-free diet, as the majority of dietary fibre sources contain wholegrain and gluten. There are naturally gluten-free high-fibre foods, however. Examples include chickpeas, kidney beans and soya beans, lentils, peas, carrots, potatoes, asparagus, broccoli, peanuts, almonds, flax seeds, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, buckwheat, cornmeal, oatmeal and millet.
According to research by Newcastle University, which was published in the British Journal of Nutrition, one in five of us (20%) aren’t eating any wholegrains at all (one of the major sources of fibre).
Four out of five (80%), meanwhile, aren’t consuming the three 16g servings per day that 