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High Fibre Diet.

In May 1982, copies of The F-Plan Diet went on sale, and even today it remains popular. Ultimately, it promoted a high-fibre, low-fat, calorie-controlled eating plan - in fact, pretty much what nutrition experts still recommend today if you want to lose weight.

 

What is dietary fibre?

Previously called 'roughage', dietary fibre is the term that describes the carbohydrates that human's can't digest. Dietary fibre is found in plant foods such as cereals, pulses, fruits and vegetables and occurs mainly in the plant cell wall where it provides structural support for the plant.

 

What's the link with weight loss?

Most high-fibre plans for weight loss still come with a reduction in calories. The F-Plan diet, for example, recommended a calorie restriction of between 850-1,500 calories a day - and of course, it's this calorie restriction that helps you lose weight. However, there are many reasons why including more fibre in your diet can help boost weight loss and make slimming less painful.

 

To start with, unlike other carbohydrates, most dietary fibre doesn't provide any calories. This means fibre-rich foods are often lower in energy than foods containing no fibre or only small amounts, making them ideal for people who are trying to lose weight.

 

Secondly, high fibre foods generally take longer to chew. As well as helping you to feel more satisfied when you eat, this automatically slows down the speed at which you eat, giving your brain time to register feelings of fullness so that you're less like to overeat. But that's not the only way fibre-rich foods help to control appetite. Fibre acts like a sponge and absorbs and holds on to water as its chewed in the mouth and passes into the stomach. This means fibre-rich foods swell up in your stomach and this can help to fill you up. Better still, fibre stays in the stomach for longer as it's harder to digest and this helps to keep you feeling fuller for longer, so you're less likely to want to snack in between meals.

 

So how much fibre should I eat a day to lose weight and how much can I expect to lose?

Regardless of whether you want to lose weight or maintain your weight, the Department of Health recommends adults eat an average of 18g of fibre a day with a range of 12-24g. If you want to lose weight, you'll still need to restrict your calorie intake as recommended by Weight Loss Resources and the amount you can expect to lose will depend entirely on the degree of this restriction. Weight Loss Resources recommends you aim to lose no more than 2lb a week, although you might lose slightly more in the first few weeks when your body loses water as well as fat. This follows the guidelines recommended by nutrition experts.

 

Has a high-fibre diet got any other health benefits?

Definitely, having spent a long time in the stomach, fibre moves through the large intestine relatively quickly and health experts believe this helps to keep the digestive system healthy, preventing bowel problems such as constipation, diverticular disease and haemorrhoids (piles), as well as reducing the risk of bowel cancer. Interestingly, all these conditions tend to be uncommon in undeveloped countries where intakes of fibre are high, compared to Western societies where these medical problems are widespread and fibre intakes are low.

Furthermore, most fibre-rich foods are also low in fat and packed with vitamins and minerals - and when it comes to preventing disease, it seems that it's this whole package of nutrients that's important. For example, wholegrains like wheat, barley, oats, rye and rice contain not just fibre, but a number of nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers and diabetes by as much as 30 per cent. These include antioxidant nutrients vitamin E, zinc and selenium and a range of plant compounds called phytochemicals.