Nutrition
Beans there, done that
by Jennifer Bowden
How to make eating more fibre a regular habit.
Question: My doctor has told me to increase my fibre intake, to improve my health. I have Weet-Bix Oat Bran with fruit and yoghurt for breakfast, and try to eat what I think is healthy food, ie, wholegrain bread and quite a bit of fruit. Last week, I bought a few cans of beans of various sorts, but I am not sure how to include them in meals. How can I increase my fibre intake? (Pat, Orewa)
Answer:
Most health messages about dietary fibre focus on what a great job it does by helping to keep us “regular”. So we could be forgiven for thinking that as long as we’re “regular”, our fibre intake is okay. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
Although only a small proportion of New Zealanders experience recurring constipation, the most recent National Nutrition Survey found that most of us don’t eat enough fibre – men require 30g a day, women 25g.
Increasing fibre in your diet provides many long-term health benefits. As well as preventing constipation, it reduces the risk of digestive problems such as haemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticular disease. It also lowers blood cholesterol levels, helps control the blood-sugar level (important for pre-diabetes and diabetes) and aids in weight loss (high-fibre foods have low-energy density and keep you feeling full longer).
But whereas many other healthy-eating messages are relatively self-explanatory, the “eat more fibre” message requires clarification. Once we understand what fibre is and which foods are high in fibre, it is easier to decide how to incorporate these foods into our meals.
Dietary fibre is the fraction of the edible parts of plants that is resistant to digestion and absorption in the small intestine. Fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and legumes are the best sources.
Eating 5+ servings of fruit and vegetables a day will provide a great starting point (eg, an apple, two feijoas, ½ a cup of broccoli or one potato provide 2-3g of fibre each). We also need six or more servings of bread and cereals a day (one serving is ½ a cup of porridge, 1 cup of cooked rice, or a slice of bread). By choosing wholemeal or wholegrain varieties of bread, cereals, pasta and rice, you will boost your fibre intake. Weet-Bix Oat Bran is a great choice for breakfast as one serving provides 4.7g of fibre – a serving of standard Weet-Bix contains 3.3g.
Eating more legumes will also help. Legumes are plants or the fruit of plants from the Fabaceae (formerly Leguminosae) family, and among the most well-known examples are peas, beans, lentils, alfalfa and clover. When cooking, take inspiration from other cultures. French casseroles and Mediterranean salads often contain beans, and in the cuisines of the Americas beans and lentils form the base of many healthy and budget-friendly meals.
By eating more legumes (see the tips below) and a healthy variety of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, you should be well on the way to achieving what the doctor ordered.
Email: nutrition@listener.co.nz, or write to “Nutrition”, c/o Listener, PO Box 90783, Victoria Street West, Auckland.
