WHY FIBRE
In an era where fast foods have dominated consumer choices, I want to talk about the fundamental importance of fibre.
But first we need to look at fast foods and why the overconsumption of them has culminated in a global epidemic of obesity and lifestyle diseases.
Fast foods are usually highly refined foods that are almost devoid of nutrients (nutrient-poor), high in the wrong type of fats (trans fats), and full of hidden sugars, excessive levels of sodium, and synthetic colouring, flavouring and preservatives.
From a naturopath’s perspective, these ultra-processed foods are toxic and detrimental to your health – a recipe for malnutrition, sickness and disease.
Crucial nutrients your body needs to function effectively are deficient or missing when you eat highly refined ‘non-foods’.
And by non-foods, I mean foods that provide calories but lack essential vitamins, minerals, bioactive phytochemicals, protein, and particularly fibre.
We all need to take a good honest look at our diets because it’s where many health issues begin, and also where health can be transformed.
Eating nutrient-rich food is so important that in my anniversary series of blogs, I’m going to focus on food groups, beginning with why eating fibre-rich ‘whole’ foods are essential for preventing sickness and disease.
When your diet is not rich in fibre, it affects the trillions of microorganisms that live in your gut (gut microbiome).
Your gut microbiome is ground zero when it comes to understanding sickness and disease.
I’m going to share with you why beneficial gut microorganisms are so important and how to boost the fibre content of your diet so they can flourish.
GUT DYSBIOSIS
Every system in your body and every function that keeps you alive is influenced by the total numbers and diversity of beneficial gut microorganisms living in your gut (gut flora, gut microbiota).
A diet rich in fibre and ‘live’ fermented foods promote a healthy, thriving gut microbiome, while highly processed non-foods, certain medications, excessive alcohol consumption, and stress starve and destroy it.
I often ask my clients to visualise the human body as a garden – a natural ecosystem that once disrupted impacts the health of the whole garden.
Your gut microbiome is the largest ecosystem in your body.
A diverse community of beneficial gut microorganisms play a critically important role in keeping you alive.
They guard against the invasion of harmful microorganisms and aid digestion and nutrient absorption.
Your gut microbiome is also like another brain that plays an active role in system signalling – communicating with your brain (gut-brain axis), metabolic (energy), endocrine (hormone), immune, and nervous systems.
Trillions of microscopic flora produce signalling molecules that influence physical function, behaviour, and immune responses.
Unless it is damaged and diminished, your gut microbiome plays a central role in your ability to thrive.
An imbalance in your gut microbiota (gut dysbiosis) means that the numbers and diversity of beneficial gut microorganisms has significantly decreased.
When beneficial gut microorganisms decrease, harmful ones overgrow, which weakens your immune system’s ability to protect your body from an invasion of disease-causing pathogens.
If you’re constantly ‘run-down’ and ‘catch’ one illness after another, your gut microbiome is telling you it needs your help.
Symptoms are the way your body talks to you.
Gut dysbiosis disrupts nutrient absorption and gut barrier integrity, which triggers chronic inflammation throughout your body (systemic inflammation) and immune system disorders.
Symptoms of gut dysbiosis includes digestive issues like bloating and constipation, leaky gut, irritable bowel (IBS), ulcerative colitis, increased allergic reactions (high histamine), and metabolic disorders such as high blood pressure (hypertension), high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, and fatty liver disease.
Gut dysbiosis also impacts brain function and the balance of your neurotransmitters (nerve cell messengers), triggering neuroinflammation, nervous system malfunctions, fibromyalgia, neuropathic pain, migraines, anxiety and depression.
Chronic inflammation throughout your body (linked to gut dysbiosis) triggers inflammatory diseases including asthma, as well as autoimmune disorders like Crohn’s, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), and rheumatoid arthritis.
And sex hormone-related diseases, such as ovarian cancer, postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP), polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have also been linked to gut dysbiosis.
Microbial dysbiosis in the gut also increases the risks for dementia, Alzheimer’s and cerebrovascular disease, as well as neurological disorders like Parkinson’s disease.
But it’s not all bad news.
You play a critical role in your gut microbial health.
If your body is a garden, you are the gardener, the caretaker.
Your job is to nourish and protect your garden.
What you choose to eat can make all the difference in restoring and maintaining the health and diversity of your gut microorganisms.
GUT FOOD
Diet makes a huge difference in the diversity, density, and function of your gut microbiome.
When you eat foods that provide the nutrition your microflora needs to flourish, positive changes can be detected within as little as 48 hours.
Dietary fibre is the primary source of energy that feeds and promotes the growth and activity of beneficial microorganisms (microflora) that live in your gut (your microbiome).
Dietary fibre is a type of carbohydrate and the part of plants that are indigestible.
A fibre-rich diet means that the majority of food you eat is vegetables and fruit, legumes, raw nuts and seeds, and ‘whole’ grain foods.
The Mediterranean Diet is a good example of fibre-rich eating, due to its high level of plant-based foods.
Mediterranean Diet recipes books and guides are also widely available to help you.
And please stop peeling your vegetables too – that’s where nutrients and fibre are usually the densest.
If you’d like more information about vegetables, prepping and recipes you can download our free e-book, Nutrition Therapy Remedy – VEGETABLES.
And if you are able to, only eat organic or biodynamic food so you can avoid the harmful effects of synthetic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified (GM, GMO) techniques used in agriculture.
The issue of GM foods in our food chains is highly controversial and argued, particularly because it’s a fairly new technology and long-terms studies are not available.
However, concerns already published about potential risks to human health link genetically modified foods to serious adverse health effects, including gut dysbiosis.
You can explore studies focused on the human health impacts of GMOs at the Non-GMO Project website and make your own decision about them.
Living in Australia, I prefer buying local organic or biodynamic food.
If you buy imported processed foods, fresh produce, grains or oils from countries that have adopted GM technologies, check the food labels before you purchase them.
Australia has mandatory labelling requirements that bioengineered (gm) food or ingredients must be listed on product labels.
Restaurants, takeaway food shops, and caterers are exempt from gm labelling. You have to ask them.
I also recommend buying local wild-caught (not farmed) salmon because salmon was the first genetically modified animal approved for consumption in the US, Canada and Brazil.
Genetically modified pigs in the US and fish in Japan and Brazil are also sold for human consumption.
HOW MUCH FIBRE
The recommended daily dietary fibre intake is 25 grams of combined soluble and insoluble dietary fibre for women and 30 grams for men.
These amounts of fibre are easily achievable when you eat a healthy diet but most of my clients are busy people. They don’t have time to research the nutritional content of foods or weigh what they eat.
So, I devised an easier way to help my clients achieve their fibre requirements that you can easily adapt to your lifestyle too.
I created a fibre content guide that lists high-fibre foods BUT it is a general guide.
If you have irritable bowel or inflamed gut issues, work with a naturopath or nutritionist to tailor your fibre intake and help you heal your symptoms.
To meet the daily recommended fibre requirements for adults, plan to eat:
3 cups of salad and vegetables will provide an average of 10-15 grams of fibre depending on the vegetables you eat. Spread your intake throughout your meals.
I usually have a Buddha bowl salad for lunch with half an avocado, dressed with balsamic drizzle dressing, and vegetables for my evening meal.
If you love avocado, you’ll be happy to know a medium size avocado contains approximately 10 grams of fibre.
2 servings of raw fruit will provide an average of 5 grams of fibre depending on the fruit you eat.
I usually have blueberries or raspberries for breakfast and a piece of fruit for my afternoon snack.
1/4 of a cup (27g) of raw or activated walnuts (preferably organic): provides 2 grams of fibre.
I eat organic activated walnuts for my morning snack on workdays, when my brain needs fuel to see me through the day.
Omega-3 fats in walnuts support heart health, brain function, and offer anti-inflammatory benefits too.
The omega-3 fatty acids in walnuts also increase the abundance of beneficial gut microorganisms such as Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, and Akkermansia.
1/4 of a cup of beans (legumes) provides roughly 4-8 grams of fibre depending on the beans you eat.
I eat chickpeas in my lunch salads almost every day, to boost the fibre and protein content of my diet.
1/4 a cup of whole, fibre-rich grains of your choice will provide between 2-8 grams of fibre depending on the carbohydrates you eat.
I love eating barley salad, and ¼ of a cup of hulled boiled barley provides roughly 8 grams of fibre.
Or you could eat a chia seed pudding for breakfast. One tablespoon of raw chia seeds offers you approximately 5 grams of fibre.
You can mix and match and vary your weekly diet too.
Some days I won’t have grains and eat more legumes or feast on beetroot salad.
An average-sized (170g) beet, raw or steamed is equivalent to 4 grams of fibre.
My High Fibre Whole Foods guide makes it easy for you to vary your diet.
You can download and print it so you have a handy reference for planning your favourite meals.
FIBRE GUIDE DOWNLOAD
High Fibre Whole Foods features the fibre content of fruit and vegetables, legumes (beans), nuts and seeds, and whole grain carbohydrates.
I’ve listed nutrient-dense foods that are rich in fibre, essential vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that can help you restore metabolic imbalances, reduce inflammation, and lower your risk of chronic diseases.
Click here on the HIGH FIBRE FOODS GUIDE link to download the guide.
FIBRE CALCULATORS
My fibre guide is not all-inclusive.
I haven’t included foods from all countries and cultures BUT you can find the fibre and nutrient content of most foods online.
CheckYourFood.com is a free-to-use nutrition database with over 2000 ingredients, and recipes too.
Once you learn the nutritional content of healthy foods available where you live, you can easily plan and prep meals that fit your daily routine and fibre requirements.
To further boost your gut health, I also want to give you a Gut Dysbiosis Metabolic Drink recipe you can have first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.
GUT HEALING DRINK
The ingredients in this gut dysbiosis morning drink recipe are designed to soothe inflammation, heal the mucosal lining of your gut, and revive your gut microbiome.
To help alleviate gut dysbiosis drink this recipe daily, first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, until your gut health is fully restored.
Then drink it once a week for maintenance and to support your gut microbiome.
Start slowly with the fibre content of this recipe so your gut can adjust smoothly.
Begin with a ¼ teaspoon of Nourish and PHGG for 2 days.
Increase to ½ a teaspoon of Nourish and PHGG for 3 days.
Then include the recommended amounts as follows:
1 metric teaspoon of Nourish to soothe and heal chronic inflammation, strengthen your gut barrier integrity, and nourish your gut microbiome.
1 metric teaspoon of partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG) is an excellent prebiotic fibre for the gut microbiome because it feeds beneficial bacteria—specifically Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli—while reducing harmful bacteria.
PHGG is a water-soluble, non-gelling, tasteless fibre that dissolves easily, and is usually well-tolerated, especially if you have a sensitive gut or Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
You can also add PHGG to your smoothies, yoghurt, porridge or chia puddings to boost your daily fibre intake.
100ml of organic, 100% cold-pressed pomegranate juice is a potent prebiotic and anti-inflammatory food that increases beneficial bacteria like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium and inhibits the growth of pathogens like E. coli and Salmonella.
1 metric teaspoon of organic aloe vera pulp juice soothes the delicate lining of your intestinal tract, alleviates inflammation and ulcerative colitis, and helps prevent gastric ulcers.
Aloe is also an excellent prebiotic for your gut microbiome and immune system, increasing beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Akkermansia while reducing pathogens.
RECIPE INSTRUCTIONS
Add the liquids to a glass first.
Then add the powders and whisk together until the ingredients are well combined.
You can download and save our recipe sheet by clicking on the link Gut Dysbiosis Drink RECIPE.
And while we’re on the topic of drinks, it’s very important to drink plenty of pure water when you increase fibre in your diet.
PROPER HYDRATION
Water is essential to your survival and the function of every system in your body.
Water regulates your body temperature, aids in nutrient transport and waste removal, supports brain function, and lubricates your joints.
Proper hydration (fluid intake) is so essential especially when you eat a fibre-rich diet to avoid constipation, bloating, gut discomfort, flatulence (farting), as well as poor digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Dehydration is a common health issue.
Many people are not drinking enough pure water to maintain good health.
Your body is approximately 66% water.
You need pure water to replace fluids lost in all the metabolic processes that keep you alive.
If you don’t drink enough water, you become dehydrated.
Common symptoms of dehydration include feeling tired, brain fog, aching joints and muscles, headaches, smelly urine, dark urine, and constipation.
Studies reveal that dehydration is linked to increased disease risk.
Chronic dehydration can lead to digestion disorders, gut dysbiosis and a weakened immune system, and an increase in the absorption of toxins that harm health because you’re not drinking enough water to flush them out of your body.
Water helps remove metabolic wastes from your body through sweat, exhalation (breathing out), urine, and bowel movements.
WHAT TO DRINK
We all need to drink pure water.
Don’t drink sugar-laden and carbonated drinks (fizzy drinks, pop). They don’t count when it comes to keeping your body well-hydrated.
Synthetically sweetened diet drinks are even worse – especially for your gut microbiome.
Ditch these junk food drinks and switch to drinking pure hydrating water.
Pure fruit juices are too high in concentrated sugars.
And coffee dehydrates your body – so keep that in mind when calculating your fluid intake and drink no more than 2 cups of coffee a day – preferably before 3pm so it doesn’t interfere with sleep.
If pure water isn’t your favourite drink, there’s always a solution.
You can drink hot or cold herbal teas – and sweeten them with pure monk fruit extract.
You can also add a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, or add 50ml of cold-pressed organic pomegranate juice to your water bottle.
Fresh spearmint leaves in your water bottle are also wonderfully refreshing.
HOW MUCH WATER
Optimum hydration depends on your level of activity and even the climate you live in.
If you’re exercising and sweating, you’re an athlete, or you live in a hot climate, you need to replace the fluids you lose more frequently.
On average, though, adults should aim to drink two litres of pure water daily – especially when you increase fibre in your diet.
Take a water bottle with you wherever you go.
And to stop you from feeling bloated, sip water throughout the day rather than guzzling down glasses of it at a time.
CARBOHYDRATE CLARITY
Before I sign off, I want to want to address fears about eating carbohydrates.
Over the years, I’ve worked with clients who believed carbohydrates were bad for them, and they ate a high protein (mostly meat) diet.
They came to see me because of illness – and their symptoms were telling me that what they believed about carbohydrates wasn’t true.
I’m not here to debunk superstar diets or anti-carbohydrate regimes.
Free will means everyone has the right to make their own choices.
But I will say these type of diets are linked to gut dysbiosis, and published studies support this finding.
I’ve included links to studies in my references so you can see the research for yourself.
From my professional experience, I have found that whole food carbohydrates are a critically essential food group.
But it’s the type of carbohydrates you eat that make the difference.
Fibre-rich (whole) carbohydrates provide fuel for your brain, nervous system, muscles, organs, and metabolic processes.
You also need to eat the indigestible parts of plants (dietary fibre) to feed and promote beneficial gut microorganisms.
Health-promoting carbohydrates include fibre-rich whole grains, raw nuts and seeds, nutrient-rich vegetables, and enzyme-rich fruit.
Some clients have told me they lost weight and had better energy when they stopped eating carbohydrates and followed a high protein (mostly meat) based diet.
But what actually happened was they cut out excess sugar, trans fats, and the highly processed content of their diet.
That’s why they lost weight and gained energy at the time.
What they didn’t know is that excessive dietary protein affects the health of your gut microbiome.
Elevated protein levels have been found to disrupt microbial balance (homeostasis), promote pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria, and reduce beneficial gut microorganisms.
Increased pathogenic bacteria leads to a greater production of harmful compounds linked to immune dysregulation, elevated inflammation, and impaired gut barrier function.
You don’t have to look much further than your gut microbiome to begin to understand why your health deteriorates.
And that what you eat plays a huge role in gut health and your wellbeing.
If you really want to heal and protect your health, stop eating highly refined processed foods, corn syrup sweetened foods, sugar loaded foods, and trans-fats – and learn all you can about the consequences of consuming them.
It’s the type of food you eat that matters and what it provides your cells and systems with once it’s digested and absorbed.
Eating a balanced, nutrient dense and fibre rich diet that includes all of the food groups is vital for restoring and maintaining your health.
Much love,
Lisa Rieniets ND.
RELATED BLOGS
Free E-book: Nutrition Therapy – Vegetables
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/free-e-books-health-healing/
Nutrition Therapy – Healthy Fats
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/nutrition-therapy-healthy-fats/
Quit Sugar With Monk Fruit
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/quit-sugar-with-pure-monk-fruit/
Your Gut Microbiome & Why Prebiotics Are Essential
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/gut-microbiome-prebiotics/
NOURISH Prebiotic Breakfast Drink Powder
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/nourish-prebiotic-breakfast-drink/
How Food Can Be Your Medicine
https://www.renerhealthclinics.com.au/how-food-can-be-your-medicine/
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