Dietary Fibre and Your Body

Dietary fibre, or fibre, is the part of food that cannot be digested by our bodies. Therefore, there is a misconception that fibre is just food remains, while in fact, both water-soluble and water-insoluble fibre, found in different types of food, serve different functions in the body.

The health benefits of dietary fibre

Intake of adequate amount of foods with a high fibre content helps in the prevention of diseases and chronic body imbalances.

• Prevention and relief of constipation
  Fibre increases the bulk of stool and stimulates motion of the large intestine. It absorbs water, lubricates the large intestine and makes defecation easier.
  
  
• Digestion and absorption
  Fibre stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids and the action of "good" bacteria in the intestine, hence, stimulating the formation of vitamin B2.
  
  
• Protection against cancer of the large intestine
  Fibre prevents the accumulation of cancer-causing (or carcinogenic) materials because it shortens the retention period of waste materials.
  
  
• Weight-control
  As fibre absorbs large amount of water, it expands in volume and gives a sensation of fullness. Moreover, more time is required for chewing high-fibre foods, hence less food would be consumed.
  
  
• Stabilization of blood sugar level and control of diabetes
  Fibre can slow down the body's absorption of sugar.
  
  
• Lowering of blood cholesterol level, hence prevention of heart disease
  Water-soluble fibre combines with cholesterol and then excretes it.
  
  

Foods with a high fibre content

Only foods of plant origin contain fibre. Examples include:

Cereals - wholemeal bread, red rice, oatmeal
Vegetables - kale, watercress, spinach
Root vegetables - potato, sweet potato
Beans - mung bean, kidney bean, black-eye bean, red bean
Fungi - straw mushroom, button mushroom, white fungus, black fungus,
Fruits - orange, grapefruit, prune
Others- sesame, chestnut, cashew nut, peanut

Daily fibre requirement

Adolescence and adults need 25 g or above of fibre everyday while children need less. Add 5 to a child's age to calculate the amount of fibre needed per day (Age + 5 = grams of fibre required per day).
For example, a 6-year-old child would need 11g of dietary fibre per day.

Source： Central Health Education Unit of Department of Health

Essential facts

• There is no fibre in fish, meat, shrimps, eggs and milk.
  
• Obtain fibre from food rather than fibre tablets, powder or other supplements.
  
• Consume different types of fibre-rich foods because fibre from different food serve different functions.
  
• Increase fibre intake gradually to avoid gastrointestinal upset from sudden intake of large amounts of fibre.
  
• Too much fibre would lead to malnutrition and decreased absorption of minerals.
  
• Take fruits and vegetables together with the skin, like unpeeled plums, grapes.
  
• Fresh fruit is better than fruit juice because most of the fibre in fruit is damaged when
  it is squeezed to make juice.
  
• Fibre absorbs a lot of water. For fibre to function effectively, a daily intake of 6-8 glasses of fluid is required.
  
• Although fibre is important to health, we should not neglect other food types. A balanced diet and regular exercise are of utmost importance to good health.

Fibre content in different types of food

An example of a high-fibre diet