High Fibre Diet

High Fibre Diet

What is Fibre?
Fibre, or roughage, refers to the parts of fruit, vegetables and grains that cannot be
digested by your stomach. It does not contain any calories, minerals or vitamins, but it
is important as part of a healthy balanced diet.

How does fibre work?
There are two types of fibre found in our diet; soluble fibre and insoluble fibre:

• Soluble fibre – this type of fibre dissolves in water to form a gel-like material
  which slows digestion and makes you fuller for longer. Good sources include
  oats, barley, rye, peas and beans, lentils, fruits and vegetables;
• Insoluble fibre – this type of fibre does not dissolve in water and is left intact as
  food moves through the digestive system. It adds bulk to stools and absorbs
  water, makes your stools soft and easier to pass and helps you to form healthy,
  regular bowel habits. Good sources include wholegrain foods, whole wheat flour,
  nuts, flaxseeds, fruits and vegetables with skins and pips

It is important to include both types of fibre in your diet to give the greatest health
benefit.

Health benefits of a high fibre diet:

• Preventing constipation;
• Lowering the risk of diverticular disease (small pouches in your colon) and colon
  cancer;
• Lowering the risk of haemorrhoids or piles (swollen blood vessels in your back
  passage), diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome;
• Reducing blood cholesterol: soluble fibre prevents some dietary cholesterol from
  being broken down and digested. Over time, this can help lower the level of free
  cholesterol in blood;
• Stabilising blood sugar level: Just as it prevents fats from being absorbed, soluble
  fibre slows down the digestion of sugar and starch which prevent sharp spikes in
  blood glucose levels.

How much fibre do I need?
In 2015 the government published new guidelines with a recommendation that the
population’s fibre intake should increase to 30g a day for adults (aged 17 years and
over). On average, we consume much less than this – about 18g per day. Children
also need to increase their fibre intake.

Recommended intakes of fibre are shown below:

Age (years)	Recommended intake of fibre
2-5	15g / day
5-11	20g / day
11-16	25g / day
17 and over	30g / day

How can I increase the amount of fibre I eat?
Good sources of fibre are products that are often labelled as “wholemeal” or
“wholegrain”.

• Bread – wholemeal, granary or seeded wholegrain breads.
• Bread based products – wholemeal scones, muffins, malt loaf and fruit loaf. If
  your family only typically likes to use white flour for baking, why not try the
  versions that combine white and wholemeal flours as a start.
• Breakfast cereals – Weetabix, All-bran, Branflakes, Fruit & Fibre, Shreddies,
  Shredded Wheat, Weetos, porridge oats, cereal and muesli bars. Look for ‘high
  fibre’ on the pack.
• Biscuits – Hob-Nobs, Digestives, Garibaldi, flapjacks, oatcakes, Ryvita and other
  oat or wholemeal biscuits.
• Brown rice and whole wheat pasta, Chapattis made with medium or brown
  flour, wholemeal pitta and naan bread
• Fruit and vegetables – Aim to eat 5 portions of fruits and vegetables a day, 1
  portion is 80g. This will help you reach the recommended fibre intake, as well as
  providing you with lots of vitamins and minerals. Tinned, frozen or dried fruit
  and vegetables all count and they don’t have to be eaten on their own, for
  example, vegetables used in soups, sandwiches or as pizza toppings all count
  towards your 5-a-day.
• Pulses, beans and lentils – split peas, chick peas, kidney beans.
• Potatoes with skin
• Nuts – avoid excessive amounts of nuts as they can be high in fat and salt. 1
  portion is 30g; approximately a small cupped, handful.

If your aim is to maintain a healthy weight or lose weight, it is important to limit higher
calorie and fat options as part of a healthy balanced diet.

High Fibre Meal Ideas

Breakfast

• Shreddies with dried fruit
• Wholemeal toast
• Fruit: fresh, stewed, dried or tinned in natural juice

Main meals

• Jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn
• Chilli con carne with kidney beans
• Whole wheat spaghetti bolognaise (add vegetables)
• Roast beef with peas, broccoli, carrots and new potatoes (boiled in their skins)
• Grilled or baked fish with sweetcorn, salad and potato wedges

Desserts

• Fruit: fresh, stewed, dried or tinned in natural juice
• Fruit pie or crumble made with wholemeal flour
• Wholemeal bread and butter pudding with raisins

Snack meals

• Baked beans on wholemeal toast
• Lentil & vegetable soup with wholemeal roll
• Jacket potato with chickpeas and tomatoes

Snacks

• Veggie sticks (carrots, cucumber) with hummus
• Fruit, dried fruit and nuts, wholemeal scone, fruit cake, cereal bar, flapjack or
  oatcake

A healthy, balanced diet can provide enough fibre – especially if you eat your 5-a-day,
potatoes in skins and choose wholegrain foods. A 7-day meal planner that meets
fibre recommendations can be found here:
https://www.nutrition.org.uk/attachments/article/881/SACN%20guidelines%20me
al%20planner.pdf

Below is an example of foods that together provide more than the recommended
amount of fibre over a day (for an adult).

Meal	Food	Portion	Fibre content (g)
Breakfast	Bran flakes	40g	8
	1 banana, sliced	100g	1.5
Snack	Apple	100g	2.4
	Wholemeal toast (2 slices)	70g	4.7
Evening meal	Jacket potato with tuna mayonnaise and sweetcorn	180g	6.5
	Salad (lettuce, tomato and cucumber)	138g	1.7
	Low fat yoghurt (with strawberries)	150g	1.5
Total fibre intake:			33.1

Tips for increasing your fibre

• Drink plenty of fluids – For the fibre to work, you need to drink enough fluids
  throughout the day. These fluids will be absorbed into your stools helping them to
  become soft and easy to pass. Aim to drink 6-8 cups of fluid (around 2L litres)
  per day at regular intervals. Water, lower-fat milk and lower-sugar or sugar-free
  drinks, including tea and coffee, all count.

• Increase your fibre intake gradually – do not have large amounts of fibre one
  day and little the next. Increasing your fibre intake suddenly can cause wind,
  bloating and stomach upset. Make one change at a time, for example, swapping
  cornflakes for branflakes and let your body adjust before making other changes.
  This will help to avoid or reduce any symptoms.
• Be active! – Physically active individuals have demonstrated a lower prevalence
  of constipation compared to physically inactive individuals. Exercising regularly
  helps to stimulate the natural contraction of intestinal muscles which help move
  stools out quickly. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per
  week (brisk walking, house cleaning, swimming) or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity actively per week (hiking, bicycling, football /basketball game).
• Food Labels – Most food labels give the amount of fibre per serving or per 100g.
  Counting up every gram is not necessary, but food labels can be helpful to make
  comparisons with similar products and make healthier choices.
  o For a food to claim that it is a “source of fibre”, there should be at least
  3g of fibre per 100g or 1.5g of fibre per 100 kcal.
  o For a food to claim that it is a “high fibre” food, it should contain at least
  6g of fibre per 100g or 3g of fibre per 100 kcal.

Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Covering the Alexandra Hospital, Redditch, Worcestershire Royal Hospital and
Kidderminster Hospital

Tel: 01905 760 136

Email: [email protected]

If your symptoms or condition worsens, or if you are concerned about anything,
please call your GP, 111, or 999.

Patient Experience
We know that being admitted to hospital can be a difficult and unsettling time for you
and your loved ones. If you have any questions or concerns, please do speak with a
member of staff on the ward or in the relevant department who will do their best to
answer your questions and reassure you.

Feedback
Feedback is really important and useful to us – it can tell us where we are working well
and where improvements can be made. There are lots of ways you can share your
experience with us including completing our Friends and Family Test – cards are
available and can be posted on all wards, departments and clinics at our hospitals. We
value your comments and feedback and thank you for taking the time to share this with
us.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)
If you have any concerns or questions about your care, we advise you to talk with the
nurse in charge or the department manager in the first instance as they are best
placed to answer any questions or resolve concerns quickly. If the relevant member of
staff is unable to help resolve your concern, you can contact the PALS Team. We offer
informal help, advice or support about any aspect of hospital services & experiences.

Our PALS team will liaise with the various departments in our hospitals on your behalf,
if you feel unable to do so, to resolve your problems and where appropriate refer to
outside help.

If you are still unhappy you can contact the Complaints Department, who can
investigate your concerns. You can make a complaint orally, electronically or in writing
and we can advise and guide you through the complaints procedure.

How to contact PALS:
Telephone Patient Services: 0300 123 1732 or via email at: [email protected]

Opening times:
The PALS telephone lines are open Monday to Thursday from 8.30am to 4.30pm and
Friday: 8.30am to 4.00pm. Please be aware that a voicemail service is in use at busy
times, but messages will be returned as quickly as possible

If you are unable to understand this leaflet, please communicate with a member of
staff.

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