Favourite Nutrient

Just like chefs get asked what their favourite ingredient/cuisine to work with is, as a nutritionist I get asked what my go to nutrient is. This is like being asked who is your favourite child. There are so many wonderful and beneficial nutrients in our foods to choose from, but if I had to pick one, it would be – fibre!!!

Dietary fibre is a component of all plant materials and is found in many foods (making it easy to access and consume). It benefits many of our body’s functions (gut, blood sugar, hormones, heart and nervous system). Some of the functions that fibre plays in our body include:

• assists with eliminating excess hormones from our body;
• helping to regulate our bowel movements – constipation and diarrhoea;
• aiding in the excretion of excess cholesterol from our body;
• feeding the good gut bacteria;
• mood improvement by strengthening the gut-brain axis;
• anti-cancer benefits;
• weight management by increasing satiety levels;
• aiding in blood sugar control.

As you can see, fibre in the diet (in its many forms) is great for us. So how much fibre should we be consuming to get these benefits? The recommended adequate intake for male adults is 30gms and for female adults it is 25gms per day.

Here are just a few of the foods that are considered good sources of fibre:

• whole oats;
• legumes;
• apples;
• kiwi fruit;
• broccoli;
• avocado;
• raspberries;
• green peas; and
• potatoes (with skin on).

If you want to know more about the health benefits of dietary fibre and how to make it an integral part of your daily diet, book in for a consultation.