Get Fit With Fibre

We all know the benefits of regular exercise in helping to maintain health and fitness. However, for the prevention of disease, diet is perhaps even more significant.

The role of one of the most important components of our diet – fibre – is detailed in the new fact card entitled Fibre and Bowel Health, which is now available from pharmacies with the Pharmacy Self Care health information throughout Australia.

A low fibre diet can cause constipation and haemorrhoids. It can lead to irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease, where the bowel muscle is weakened and becomes inflamed. A low fibre diet can also contribute to bowel cancer and high blood cholesterol levels (meaning a greater risk of heart disease).

So we should all be eating more fibre; but that doesn’t mean we need to consume great quantities of cardboard – or even a food that tastes like cardboard. There are some very tasty ways of increasing the intake of fibre.

There are, in fact, two types of fibre. Soluble fibre is found in oats, legumes, fruit, vegetables, seeds, cereals and fibre supplements. Insoluble fibre is also found in some vegetables and legumes as well as large amounts in wheat bran. Ideally we need to eat plenty of both types of fibre.

Also important in our diet is so-called "resistant starch". Resistant starch is found in foods such as raw starchy fruits (such as green bananas) and pasta, potatoes and rice – depending on how they are cooked.

The reason fibre and resistant starch have this protective effect is that when eaten, they pass undigested down into the bowel where they are fermented by bacteria. This increases the bulk of the faeces, making them easier and quicker to pass; so there is less time for possible cancer-causing substances to be in contact with the lining of the bowel.

Also, as they ferment, fibre and resistant starch produce chemical substances called short chain fatty acids which seem to protect against bowel cancer.

If fibre is not already a large portion of your diet, it’s sometimes helpful to increase your intake slowly. This avoids the sometimes uncomfortable or embarrassing side effects of intestinal gas or wind. Or you can consider the ready prepared fibre supplements – for many people they are less likely to increase gas production. These supplements are palatable, convenient and easy to take; and this often outweighs the disadvantage of their cost.

The most common supplements used are psyllium (which is contained in Agiofibre, Fibogel and Nucolox) and sterculia (in Granocol and Normacol Plus). Nucolox also contains a form of resistant starch called "Starmax" which was developed in conjunction with Australia’s CSIRO Division of Human Nutrition. This is likely to have even more beneficial effects.

Remember, as you eat more fibre you also need more fluid. Around 6-8 glasses of water a day is ideal for most people. Eating more fibre will add variety to your diet as well as giving you all the health benefits, because foods high in fibre usually contain many vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients.