AIBU to doubt only 4 per cent of adults get enough fibre?

[Anonnewbie]

To think that the recommended 30g of fibre per day isn't that hard to achieve for most people and be confused by the stats I keep seeing recently that 96% of UK adults get less than this?

Is it 96% don't meet it EVERY day, because that seems reasonable. Or don't average over 30g, which I think is pretty bad. But I'm realising as I type I should Google that question

My real question is how much fibre did you eat today? I just put it into chat gpt by typing out my food for today and despite being horrified by today's diet (1 piece of fruit, a few veg, way too much pastry and cheese, and quite a lot of Easter egg...saved by half a tin of beans), it estimated 37g. I asked it for a breakdown of that and the calculations seemed correct within reason as I'm not going to start weighing etc.

I would have guessed I was above average due to eating plenty of veg and home cooked meals, but cant believe I would be in the top 4% of fibre eaters in the country.... What do you think?

4g of fibre from peanut butter is about 75g/ 500 calories worth of peanut butter 😱

Or use overnight oats ?

@Neurodiversitydoctor6 slices of ryvita is quite a lot though, is that in one sitting? I wouldn’t be able to eat half of that.

Because your bowels are basically the same size and need to do the same job whether you’re 4ft 11 or 5ft 11. It’s not energy/ size/ weight related

That doesn't surprise me - I eat a pretty healthy, macros considered, diet (during the week) and I struggle most days to get past 20g.

This week I have had a chickpea based lunch and made it past 30g but I don't regularly.

If you eat beans and grains you'll probably be fine. The world is divided into people who don't give a shit about their diet (for whatever reason) and who probably don't eat much fibre; and those who do, some of whom follow high protein/fat low carb protocols = lower fibre.

I paid attention to fibre a couple of years ago and now feel much better on the days I eat 60g of fibre but I do work at it and it's so easy to not even get 30 g especially on days I don't eat beans / lentils.

Its impossible to calculate fibre using AI particularly with home made foods unless you calculate the recipe as a whole and then set out the portion size and weight (same way you calculate calories, you must weigh things per gram and calculate recipes)

Theres no point saying 'slice of carrot cake' or 'slice of bread', you have to work it out in grams. Home made soup cannot be an accurate calculation unless you do this and put each ingredient in.

The previous threads on this were a complete laugh with one woman saying she thought she easily ate 40g a day and then when it was broken down it was no where near that.

Some of that was not her fault because the calculation of items is completely hit and miss. An example on that thread was raspberries, which are a high fibre food, and the so called fibre amounts were all over the place depending on whether you're reading Tesco or Sainsburys or Waitrose or whatever.

A little bit here and there in your daily intake will all add up, but people think eating a salad or breaded products is 'fibre' but they're not really high. Vegetables are not very high.

I always find I need to add a lot of sweet stuff to overnight oats to make them nice which isn't so healthy. It doesn't take long to make porridge in the morning so I can do it so long as I stick it on before I go toilet and stuff but I just forget. Once I get in the habit it'll be alright.

I do!

I love beans and lentils and do eat them daily in different ways. Hummus, salads, soups, curries, etc

Yes I was on another thread a while ago which was asking about saving money at the supermarket or cheaper meals, cant remember exactly what now

And I set out a number of dishes or types of dishes which would be much more cost effective than what the OP was doing, and many of mine was involving lentils, beans, or bulking out with lentils and beans and grains etc

The general consensus from people on that thread was that they couldnt believe someone would eat like that. I dont think the word 'grim' was used exactly but something similar, I cant quite remember.

I was quite shocked thats how beans, lentils etc, good hearty food is seen.

Where is a good place to work it out please? I'm interested, thanks OP, can't believe how rude first couple of posters were, if you're not interested just don't open the thread much less post on it..

I don’t think it’s surprising. They’re not popular foods in the uk - apart from baked beans aside which are full of fibre and most people like!

foods like humus and daal are of course popular but not eaten regularly in large amounts in the uk. Neither are they native

use a nutrition tracker like nutra check and Change the macro you want to see to fibre 😁

I now eat a bowl of All Bran at bedtime. Game changer.

Then you're not too intelligent and quite mean-spirited to boot. Fibre consumption is a major, major factor in longevity and health. Vegetables give you vitamins, yes, and for some reason the media makes much of that. The real make or break for health is fibre but for some reason a lot of people associate it only with relieving constipation.

Because I know I'll be asked for source: there are lots. It is well known. Here is a quick summary which is easy to read but there's a ton of articles about this on ncbi:
https://www.pcrm.org/news/health-nutrition/high-fiber-diets-increase-lifespan

I am surprised by that. I grew up eating a lot of pulses and I just thought it was normal!

They are very versatile.

I get a decent amount but when I was a kid my mum used to beans (kidney beans ect) in basically everything to make it go further. I don’t really need to stretch out my food, but because that’s how I’ve always eaten I still do it. Also I have roast veg with every meal because it’s easy to pre cook and then microwave as needed. I’m surprised it’s as low as 4%, but I guess if you’re not used to it and don't know about fiber it could be hard.

Quite right @Ratatatatatatouille

Just to add- i like the PCRM link you posted. They have so much info about health and disease and food. Reading their site is probably the single biggest reason why i went vegetarian in the first place!

I am surprised mine is so low. I have fruit, yoghurt and museli for breakfast, often a home made wrap with chicken or fish and salad in and for dinner a mixed grain meal with plenty of veg and some lean protein. My food yesterday was only 24g fibre...

I only found it through Google but really like the way they had a nice, to-the-point summary and included their source on the page. I see why you like them!

What you’ve said you’ve eaten is no way 35g of fibre. Try tracking your food through something like MyFitnessPal for a more accurate amount.

I’m also vegetarian, but also interested in fibre for health and fibre is key for weight loss in the latest studies (and I’ve needed to lose some of the baby weight!)

So we do get enough fibre, but purposely. We like beans and lentils and chickpeas and humous etc, eat a lot of leafy greens and berries and whole grains, and it’s easy to chuck seeds and nuts on breakfast cereals, yoghurts etc.

However I know a lot of people don’t like to eat like that, including my family, so I cook something in no else when they come around. A lot of people peel potatoes and carrots, eat white or half and half unseeded bread, and don’t eat pulses regularly

I can believe it. I put effort into getting fibre in my diet and I probably don't hit 30 g some days.

Thinking of my family's diet, there is no way they would. The quick cards and upf take up the bulk of fibre "slot" in their food.

To be honest I was a bit surprised and taken aback at the strength of anti bean/pulse feeling on the thread!!

Dhal and hummous not overly common until recently (and by which I mean the last 30-40 years) but the UK was built on pottage and similar types of dish, using peas and beans, all grown here.

My mum followed the principles of the F plan diet and prior to this was a big beany/lentil/grainy eater so thats how we were brought up. Perhaps that was unusual as we were a south london working class family, not sure where she got the information from. My dad wouldnt eat it though.

Most people outside MN don't eat anywhere near 5 portions of fruit and veg a day and wouldn't eat pulses by choice. So it's not surprising at all.