Fibre and a night out with Nutritional Therapists !

I am really lucky as have a great group of nutritional therapists that I am proud to call my friends. We go out for meals and always tend to pick interesting choices and may be particular in our tastes. We chat about a variety of topics from teas to detoxification processes. This week was no exception to the norm.

Fibre! We talk about fibre but what is it and more importantly what does it do?

Our foods have become so devoid of fibre and it is such an essential but it just ain't sexy!

How much do we need in a day? Current recommendations are that we should have 30g per day. The average person is doing well if they get to 20g.

Let's break it down so we can achieve this easily.

100g fibre equates to : Apple(2.4g),Wholegrain oats(9.5g),Chickpeas(5.7),Avocado(6.7g)

Chia seeds(33.2g),Broccoli (3.29g),Kiwi(3.39g),Wheat germ(14g)

You can easily see that 7 portions of fruit and vegetables a day will get you well on the way to achieving that 30g magic number. Fibre, however, doesn't work on it own and

look at drinking fluid(alcohol, coffee and tea don't count!) as well to get things moving.

Why is fibre so important for our bodies?

Great for our gut as it it provides food for the good bacteria and it helps them grow in number (70% of our immune system is in our gut so this is a biggy)

Encourages us to poop regularly which in turn gets rid of our toxins

Hormone detoxification and elimination

(oestrogen being a major one)

Improves our heart health as it reduces cholesterol and blood pressure

Helps our bowels stay healthy and reduces risk of cancer

Great for our blood sugar levels and in turn can help us feel fuller which consequently helps us maintain a healthy weight

I challenge you next time you go out for a meal get that conversation round to fibre.

You may be surprised by the reaction!