Why to eat fibre-rich foods

Read on to find out the benefits of including fiber in your diet. - Fiber-rich foods include wholemeal bread, baked potatoes with their skins, bran, oats, muesli, lentils, beans and pulses, fresh and dried fruits, vegetables and nuts and seeds. - Aim to consume 12-24g of fiber each day. Look for foods with at least 3g of fiber per 100g. - It slows the digestive process – eat more to keep you fuller for longer and to balance your blood sugar (very important for diabetics). - It improves gut health – bacteria in the large intestine use soluble fiber to feed on and grow. Healthy gut flora will boost your immune system. - It makes stools soft and bulky – by increasing your fiber intake you can reduce constipation and bloating and improve the health of your colon and bowel. - Fiber can reduce blood pressure – Fiber’s role is to swell up and hold onto water to keep your intestines healthy. As it swells it soaks up bile from your liver, which contains cholesterol. Your liver then takes more cholesterol from your blood to top up its stores. This reduces circulating cholesterol and in the long term will lower blood pressure.