February 14, 2024

Kiwi nutritionist Nikki Hart, who has been practising for over 25 years, speaks to us about the importance of fibre in the diet, how to increase your intake and its connection to lowering the risk of bowel cancer.

Nikki says the rise in fasting diets and people more frequently skipping breakfast is causing problems in the long term. As a nutritionist, she is well aware of the prevalence of bowel cancer across the motu.

“We have a big issue here in New Zealand with bowel cancer, and we just don’t eat enough fibre. So, if you’re skipping breakfast, you’re actually on the backfoot [with fibre intake] for the rest of the day.”

Nikki breaks down what fibre is and how to increase it in your diet:

“Fibre, or ‘roughage’ as it was commonly called in the 1800’s, was well known for it’s vital role in digestive health. Now we learn from the researchers that eating a high-fibre diet has been shown to not only improve gastrointestinal health but also reduce your risk for many diseases such as heart disease, some types of cancer and diabetes.

Despite the message that ‘eating more fibre is good for you, we do not eat as much of it as is recommended. It is recommended that New Zealand adults eat between 25 to 30 grams of fibre every day.

Fibre is a term used to describe any part of plant food that is not completely broken down during digestion. The undigested fibre moves into the large intestine, where bacteria break it down.

There are 3 major types of dietary fibre, but most fibre-containing foods feature almost all of the 3.

  • Soluble Fibre has a mushier texture because it tends to soak up more water and is found in fruit, vegetables, dried peas and beans, oats, rice and barley. This type of fibre can make a softer bowel motion.
  • Insoluble Fibre has a tough, chewy texture that is found in wholegrain and whole wheat-based cereals and pasta, popcorn, apple skin etc. This supplies bulk to the diet.
  • Resistant Starch is found in firm bananas, roasted chickpeas, cooked and cooled potatoes, baked beans, and boiled long-grain white rice. Like the other types of fibre, this starch helps prevent constipation.

Most of your daily fibre intake is achieved if you eat a cereal-based breakfast each day. I advise clients to get a mixture of soluble fibre and insoluble fibre by varying their cereals within each week – such as eating Oats (porridge = soluble) one day and then moving to a wholegrain cereal (muesli = insoluble) for the next.

To reduce your risk [of] bowel cancer is to enjoy a diet that is full of colourful fruit and vegetables and whole grains, legumes and nuts. These foods contain more than just fibre – they are super-charged with all sorts of beneficial micronutrients to lower inflammation and protect you from disease.”

We have several high-fibre recipes available on our website here.