Cleanse, Detox or Bust: Fibre
Fibre: What it is and why we need it
‘Don’t we get enough fibre in our diet?’ One of the first questions I’m asked when the subject of fibre comes up. Short answer: Only if you’re eating whole foods do you get enough fibre on a daily basis. Sorry processed food people, but there’s very little fibre in manufactured and processed foods. It’s a big part of the ‘processing’ process. Fibre typically is the rougher or roughage part of many whole foods. Not as palatable as say a refined smooth white pristine flour, for example, looking so pure and baking up nice a light…how can we resist? Nothing beats white wheat flour but like many other processed foods, it lacks the fibre. How about us carnivores? Well, if you’re a carnivore and you don’t eat your veggies…sorry, no fibre there either. So we have to ask ourselves… are we getting enough fibre every day?
The Basics: What is fibre?
Fibre is the indigestible type of carbohydrate that is a part of plant foods. It is a part of plant foods, necessary to maintain good digestive and overall health. Unlike other carbohydrates, fibre passes through our digestive tract, undigested, through both the small intestine and large intestine or colon. It bulks up our stools and keeps everything moving, reducing constipation and keeping us healthy.
There are different types of fibre:
Soluble fibre - creates a gel-like substance in your intestines causing us to feel fuller longer.
Insoluble fibre - bulks up our stools to help in the elimination process.
Digestive-resistant starch, similar to insoluble fibre, does not get broken down, adds bulk to our stool and it also acts as a powerful prebiotic food for our good bacteria.
Why do we need it?
Without enough fibre, all those toxins that we have been releasing (now that we have adopted a liver-friendly foods diet) will have nothing to attach itself to and therefore could stay with us and keep cycling through our body instead of making their way out. Fibre is an important part of the detox process. The last puzzle piece. We could eat all the right foods, drink enough water but if there isn’t enough fibre, we could come up short. Getting the liver to release toxins is one step and the fibre collecting those toxins ensures they make their way out.
Fibre is also needed by our “good bacteria” or gut microbiome as a food source by fermenting specific types of fibre for fuel. By creating this fuel the good bacteria in our gut are able to increase in numbers, crowd out the bad bacteria and keep it at bay leading to better overall health.
Fibre is also important for cardiovascular health, maintains cholesterol and blood sugar levels, weight management and digestive disorders like IBS, just to name a few in a long list of benefits to having enough fibre in our daily diet.
How much do I need?
All types of fibre are needed to keep us healthy so mixing it up and choosing different foods gives us a better chance of getting all the necessary types of fibre we need.
Generally speaking here’s what we need in the total amount of fibre per day:
Children 15-20 grams
Teens 25 grams
Adult 30-35 grams
Where do I get it?
The primary sources of fibre are legumes, beans, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. There are lots of choices so try to include a high fibre food in each meal every day.
See Bits and Bites for a detailed list of the Top 10 High Fibre Food Groupings and more….
Want to know more…
Which fibres do you need to remove toxins?
