How on earth are you supposed to eat 30 grams of fibre every day?

[SleafordSods]

I’ve been listening to The Fibre Factor on R4.

I’m not on TikTok but according to this show, lots of TikTokers are now moving away from promoting eating high protein to now stressing how important it is to get 30g a day.

How do you do it though? Foods I thought might be high in fibre, like a banana, only have roughly 2 grams.

So if you’re getting 30 grams a day, how are you getting it?

Yes it comes to something that you have to blubber up to survive the NHS these days.

Sad times!

Bran flakes and an apple for breakfast
Snack on a small bowl of healthy popcorn
Chicken Salad sandwich on granary bread
hummus and half a carrot
Chicken Curry with Brown Rice
Bowl of berries and Greek yoghurt.

That would hit your fibre and probably your protein for the day.

You can play around with different things, but it is doable.

Ah, my apologies.

Also bear in mind different grains, oats and brown rice could be improved by using bulgur and farek.

Sweet potato, baked potato m, lots of oats eg oatcakes, raw veg , nuts and seeds, dried fruit

Interestingly bran flakes are low fibre (about 3.5g a portion) where as a similar cereal all bran is much higher (8g)

I've done this for 30 years since I was first pregnant. Never ate breakfast before that. I often add some oats on top. It's not very nice but I really notice a difference if I don't eat it.
Also tons of salad, fruit and veg.
I take medication that causes constipation so need to keep things moving.

I thought being overweight when older was a slight advantage?
In the very elderly I think it helps. Appetites fall and illness causes weight to plummet.

I have a friend with Crohns and she has similar problems. I think with things like this you have to go with what suits your own body. I think she finds well cooked carrots and small amounts of banana and apple OK.

Bran flakes is 5g of fibre, all bran is 10g but for a bigger portion (30g flakes, 40g all bran). Crunchy bran is 8g and corn flakes is less than 1g. So bran flakes is a good choice and tastes nicer to me than all bran. Crunchy bran is really tasty and good on a Greek yoghurt bowl.

Bran flakes are not low fibre, they have five times more than cornflakes.

Also, it’s good to get fibre across the day in lots of different forms and not to go too high too soon so you get unfortunately side effects and get put off.

And again, I don’t like all bran 🤣

I wonder how bemused people with IBS must feel about the high fibre advice. I mean, if you know it works badly for you, then you have to shrug it off.

It is bloody miserable, @lljkk, you’re right.

I’ve been in tears today from the pain and misery/exhaustion of ‘mild’ IBD. I’ve eaten 3 pickled baby beetroots since Friday evening. No other food.

Mounjaro has improved my ibs immeasurably. Prior to taking it I would have diarrhoea up to twenty times a day. The advix from consultants and nutritionists was small meals, no caffeine and take as much Imodium as you can. Colonoscopy revealed polyps that were removed and diverticulitis diagnosed.

I barely struggle at all with the ibs now and I can eat most things. I get diarrhoea for a week during my period (I think everyone does?) but aside from that I’m ok.

I take a decent dose of psyllium husk daily and that seems to help somewhat too.

Me too!
I rarely eat breakfast, sometimes have avocado toast for brunch and skip lunch.
If I have lunch it’s two or three veg, potatoes and usually meat or fish. Two satsumas for a snack and cheese, tomato, gherkins and wholemeal crackers for tea.
2 litres fluids, mainly very dilute squash and a couple of coffee or tea.
I very much doubt I get anywhere near 30gms. I’m reasonably active, and average height and weight.

I eat a lot of plant based foods and would struggle not to consume 30g in a day, usually I eat much more. I like big portions and am maintaining a large weight loss so fibre/plants really help me. I’m always surprised at how little fibre other people include in their diets.

Chocolate!

I kid you not.

I never understand why people think fibre needs are related to your size or the calories you eat- where did they get the idea they’re connected?!

our bowels are pretty standard no matter how tall you are (obviously acknowledging there is a difference between men/ women/ children’s needs)

I picked these up the other day which are really nice. Been having them with fruit and fibre, raspberries and kefir in the morning

I'm vegetarian, and don't really think about it much. A quick calculation of today's planned meals takes me over 27g, and then there'll be bits of fruit etc, or I might add in another vegetable somewhere. I'm more likely to be deficient in protein than fibre on an average day. I know that's not good either.
I'm not surprised some people find it hard. If vegetables, fruit and grains are only supporting acts, it's easy to fill up on the meaty star of the show, and not have room to get the fibre in.

Good breakfast ideas:
Overnight oats with raspberries and chia seeds
Porridge with a handful of nuts (I drizzle with a bit of maple syrup or honey)
Whole grain seeded toast with avocado. Top with a poached egg if hungry.
If out and about: pret's blue breakfast bowl or veggie breakfast with beans and mushrooms are high in fibre

Lunch:
Baked sweet potato with beans. My favourite are bold beans smoky chilli. Top with a bit of feta and coriander.
A salad involving white beans, roast veg, red onion, avocado etc. Maybe feta again. Beans do a lot of heavy lifting!
If out and about Gail's does a 4-bean salad with a turmeric dressing, pickled fennel and tenderstem broccoli that is delicious. But sometimes they don't have it in which makes me grumpy.
Leon brown rice and chicken bowls with a side of slaw are also really good

Snacks:
Handful of raspberries/ blueberries and/or nuts
Apple slices with natural peanut butter
Crudites with houmous

By the time I get to dinner I don't tend to need to focus on fibre as standard dinner including at least a couple of veg will usually be enough

My dinner tonight will have almost 30 grams by itself.

Homemade lentil Dahl 15g a serving
Curried cabbage 7g
Black Rice 6g

Also 11 plants towards my 30 plants a week.

I am mostly veggie and I don’t think it’s a vegetarian vs meat eater problem really. If you’re veggie and not thinking about it / relying on convenience meals then you’d still struggle to reach 30g of fibre.

Were you the one that posted this on another thread and got us all excited!!!

Dark chocolate yes.

Lurking

No. It wasn’t me.
coffee’s not bad either if that rocks your boat. I expect someone’s said that as well.

I also think people make the mistake of thinking fruit and veg are the answer, when they contain fairly small amounts of fibre. A vegetarian who eats a lot of beans and pulses and whole grains however will be well ahead of the game.

as I said before it’s fairly easy if you focus on it. If you eat all meals at home. If you eat the some things over and over. But try to add some flexibility, or if you don’t like fundamental high fibre foods, and yes it is challenging.

Go into any food on the go place- say pret- and you’ll be limited to anything more high fibre than sandwiches or porridge. think about what you’d order in a restaurant, or pub.

it’s easy in theory, or course- day in day out, it absolutely takes effort. You get used to it but it’s only effortless for some lifestyles