What does the recommended intake of fibre look like?
Dietary fibre provides a whole host of benefits to our health and studies have shown it to prevent against several diseases. In 2015, the Government set new guidelines for the recommended intake of dietary fibre we should consume daily to 30g (previously 18g) for adults.
According to research many people aren't consuming near this figure, so I wanted to show what 30g of fibre looks like in food forms. If you're only consuming 3 meals a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner), that means getting 10g of fibre per meal. Here are a couple of options for each meal where that is easily achievable:
Breakfast:
1/2 cup of porridge oats (2g)
with a medium chopped pear (5.5g)
+ spoonful of chia seeds (5.5g) OR 2 tablespoons of flaxseeds (3.8g)
Total of 11.3-13g fibre
OR
cup of bran flakes (7g)
with 1/2 cup of raspberries (4g)
Total of 11g fibre
Lunch:
2 slices of wholemeal toast (4g)
with an avocado (6.7g)
Total of 10.7g fibre
OR
1 large baked potato (8g)
with 100g baked beans (6g)
Total of 14g fibre
Dinner:
1/2 cup brown rice (1.75g)
with cup of broccoli (5.1g)
+ 1/2 cup peas (4.4g)
and a portion of meat
Total of 11.25g fibre
OR
Lentil Stew:
Cup lentils (15g)
1 onion (1.2g)
1 carrot (1.7g)
1 leek (1.6g)
100g chopped tomatoes (1.9g)
with herbs + spices + stock cube
Total of 21.4g fibre
