Dietary Fibre Intake
Dietary fibre is an important part of a healthy diet, it also plays a role in diabetes prevention and weight loss. The health benefits a person might experience when increasing their dietary fibre intake range from preventing constipation to feeling fuller for longer after a meal. More and more research is showing that a higher fibre intake might lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes by assisting with:
- Blood sugar control.
- Removal of excess cholesterol.
- Weight loss.
- Feeding the gut bacteria (which can help with weight loss, and improving health of the digestive and immune systems).
A study by Yao and colleagues is an example of this 🖊 . They showed that those who regularly ate high amounts of fibre had a much lower chance of developing diabetes compared to those who ate low amounts of fibre.
Consuming 25 grams or more fibre per day was required to significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This aligns with the Australian suggested dietary target of 28g for women ⚠️ and 38g for men ⚠️ for disease prevention.
The picture shows a 1 day eating plan, achieving 35g of fibre by including whole grains, vegetables, fruits and pulses. The nutritional breakdown of this day can seen below.
The key to increasing your fibre intake is to set weekly goals by adding more plant based foods to your eating habits, as well as switching refined carbohydrates for higher fibre sources, such as chips for homemade popcorn 🍿.
FOOD |
FIBRE (g) |
ENERGY (kJ) |
BREAKFAST |
||
| 1/3 (30 g) cup rolled oats
2/3 cup skim milk ½ cup blueberries (80 g) Sprinkle of cinnamon Coffee with ½ cup skim milk |
3 g
– 3 g – – |
450 kJ
130 kJ 160 kJ – 190 kJ |
MORNING TEA |
||
| 2 Ryvita crackers (20 g)
¼ avocado (40 g) 95 g can tuna in spring water Carrot sticks (1 medium carrot/130 g) |
3 g
3 g – 4.5 g |
290 kJ
230 kJ 380 kJ 190 kJ |
LUNCH |
||
| Vegetable stir fry in sauce
(30 g carrot, 30 g green beans, 50 g broccoli, 40 g chickpeas, 20 g sauce) ¾ cup brown rice (125 g) Pink lady apple (160 g) |
5.5 g
2 g 5 g |
380 kJ
870 kJ 400 kJ |
AFTERNOON TEA |
||
| Chobani Fit yoghurt (170 g)
Cobs sea salt popcorn (13 g single pack) |
–
1.5 g |
270 kJ
260 kJ |
DINNER |
||
| Small piece grilled salmon (90 g)
½ cup (80 g) couscous with lemon and parsley Roast vegetables in olive oil (60 g pumpkin, 40 g zucchini, 40 g capsicum, 10 ml olive oil) |
–
1.5 g 2.5 g |
970 kJ
540 kJ 510 kJ |
DESSERT |
||
| 1 row Cadbury milk chocolate (25 g)
Tea with ½ cup skim milk |
–
– |
560 kJ
190 kJ |
| TOTAL | 34.5 g | 6,970 kJ |
Posted by Jordan Burke – Student Dietitian at Peak Nutrition
Daley Nutrition is a community nutrition team based in Melbourne Victoria, we run a range of nutrition based programs such as cooking demonstrations in Australia to raise people’s awareness of what they are eating and empower them to change certain eating habits.
To find out more about our Nutrition Services below images
