Dr Linia Patel (PhD), RD offers 10 ways to get more fibre in your diet
The story of dietary fibre has undergone a quiet revolution in the last two decades. What was once thought of as a simple bulking agent – something to keep things moving – is now understood as a sophisticated fuel source for the trillions of microorganisms that make up your gut microbiome.
If you have not already heard – you need to be eating more fibre. The UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey found that 96% of us don’t eat the recommended 30g of fibre a day that we need. Fibre feeds your gut bacteria, which are basically involved in EVERYTHING. Digestive health. Immune health. Hormonal health. Mood. Sleep. Risk of diseases.
But it’s not just about getting the amount of fibre right. It’s about the mix of fibre, when you have your fibre – and the water to go along with it.
But here is the catch: different fibres feed different bacteria, at different sites in the colon, at different speeds. Feed only one type of bacteria and you starve the rest. And a starved microbiome, the evidence increasingly shows, is not a healthy one.
Try these 10 ways to get more fibre in to your daily intake.
1. Swap to wholegrains.
If you want to make one change that has the biggest impact on your daily fibre intake, swapping refined grains for wholegrains is it. When grains are refined – think white bread, white pasta, white rice – the outer bran layer and inner germ are stripped away during processing. This is exactly where the fibre lives.
Wholegrains keep everything intact, which means you get significantly more fibre per portion. A slice of white bread contains around 0.6g of fibre; a slice of wholegrain bread can contain up to 2.5g. The difference adds up fast across a day. Wholegrains also deliver a mix of fibre types – both soluble and insoluble – which means they feed a broader range of gut bacteria than refined alternatives.
Quick wins:
- Swap white pasta for wholewheat pasta.
- Choose seeded, rye or wholegrain bread instead of white.
- Add barley or brown rice to soups and stews.
- Start the day with oats or a high-fibre cereal.
- Choose wholegrain versions of your usual carbohydrate foods.
2. Add in beans and lentils.
Beans and lentils are arguably the most powerful fibre food you can add to your diet – and they are chronically underused in the UK. A single 400g tin of chickpeas contains around 15g of fibre – that’s half your daily target in one ingredient. They are rich in prebiotic fibre, particularly resistant starch and oligosaccharides, which act as a preferred food source for beneficial gut bacteria like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus.
These bacteria ferment the fibre and produce short-chain fatty acids – compounds that reduce inflammation, support the gut lining and have been linked to better metabolic health. On top of all that, beans and lentils also bring plant protein to the plate, making them one of the most nutritionally efficient foods you can eat.
Quick wins:
- Add beans to curries, stews and chilli.
- Replace half the meat in recipes with lentils or beans.
- Blend white beans into sauces and soups.
- Add chickpeas or mixed beans to salads.
- Experiment with different legumes rather than relying on chickpeas alone.
3. Use the sprinkle strategy.
A handful of nuts and seeds contains around 5g fibre. Some seeds are more potent than others – chia seeds have 5g fibre per one tbsp. Stir chia seeds or flaxseeds into yogurt and overnight oats. Toast sunflower or pumpkin seeds and scatter over salads, soups or roasted veg. Nuts and seeds are high in fat, so keep the portion in check.
Quick wins:
- Stir chia seeds into yoghurt, porridge or overnight oats.
- Add ground flaxseed to smoothies or cereal.
- Sprinkle pumpkin or sunflower seeds over soups and salads.
- Add chopped nuts to breakfast bowls.
- Keep portions moderate as nuts and seeds are energy dense.
4. Eat your fruit.
Whole food comes in a food matrix – the best way to deliver nutrients. Fruit with seeds in should be your fruit of choice – like berries – which are small but fibre mighty, particularly in soluble fibre. Why? They are full of tiny seeds (that get stuck in your teeth!), along with the fact that you are eating them with their skins on. The more seeds it has the better – so add kiwi and pomegranate seeds to this list too.
Quick wins:
- Add berries to porridge, yoghurt or cereal.
- Stir berries into pancake or muffin batter.
- Add fruit to salads for extra texture and fibre.
- Snack on berries, kiwi fruit or pears between meals.
- Use frozen berries for a cost-effective option all year round.
5. Go heavy on the heavier veg
Most people think fruit and veg contain lots of fibre but they aren’t the big hitters – a bowl of salad with one tomato gives you 2g of fibre. Within the veg family, some give you bigger bang for your buck than others. That’s not to say salad isn’t good for you but it won’t give you a lot of fibre. Add in heavier veg to bulk it up like carrots, green beans, garden peas and sweetcorn. Roast broccoli or Brussels sprouts until crisp or golden and add them in. Go for your dark greens that are leafy or your heavier veg.
Quick wins:
- Add carrots, peas, sweetcorn and green beans to meals.
- Roast broccoli or Brussels sprouts until golden.
- Bulk out pasta sauces with vegetables.
- Include at least two vegetables at lunch and dinner.
Prioritise dark leafy greens and denser vegetables over salad alone.
6. Build fibre into every part of the meal.
Think about fibre at every stage of eating, not just in the main course. Start with a fibre-rich soup – built on a base of root vegetables and finished with beans, lentils or leafy greens – and you can add 8-10g before the main event.
Quick wins:
- Start meals with a vegetable or bean-based soup.
- Swap mayonnaise-based dips for hummus or bean dips.
- Serve raw vegetables with dips instead of crackers.
- Choose fruit-based desserts more often.
- Add chia pudding, dried fruit or dark chocolate as fibre-containing treats.
7. Read the label.
Not everything that claims to be high in fibre actually is. Food manufacturers are savvy with their language – “made with wholegrains”, “a source of fibre” or “multi-seed” on the front of a packet can be misleading if you don’t look past the marketing. The place to look is the nutrition label on the back.
Quick wins:
- Look for foods containing at least 6g of fibre per 100g.
- Choose bread with at least 3g of fibre per slice.
- Aim for breakfast cereals with at least 6g of fibre per serving.
- Choose cereal bars with more than 3g of fibre per bar.
- Ignore front-of-pack claims and check the nutrition panel instead.
8. Embrace new plant foods.
One of the most exciting shifts in nutrition in recent years is the growing evidence that variety in your plant food intake matters just as much as quantity. Every different plant food you eat contains its own unique combination of fibres, polyphenols and phytonutrients – compounds that feed different strains of bacteria in the gut. This means that eating the same five vegetables on rotation, however reliably, will only ever nourish a limited range of gut bacteria.
The good news is that ‘new’ doesn’t have to mean complicated. Even switching the colour of a vegetable you already eat regularly – red cabbage instead of white, purple sprouting broccoli instead of standard – exposes your gut to a different set of plant compounds. Think of it less as a target to hit and more as a spirit of curiosity to adopt: the wider your plant repertoire, the richer your microbiome is likely to be.
Quick wins:
- Try one new plant food every week.
- Swap rice for mixed grains occasionally.
- Add edamame beans to stir-fries and salads.
- Experiment with different herbs and spices.
- Vary the colours of vegetables you already eat.
9. Go slow.
When it comes to fibre, patience is everything. Dramatically increasing your intake overnight might seem like the most efficient route to better gut health, but your microbiome doesn’t work that way. The bacteria in your gut need time to adapt to a higher fibre diet – rush the process and you’re likely to end up bloated, uncomfortable and put off the whole endeavour.
Think of it as a gradual retraining rather than an overnight overhaul. If you’re currently eating around 19g of fibre a day – the UK average – aim to add just 3-4g extra per week until you reach the 30g target.
Quick wins:
- Increase fibre gradually over several weeks.
- Add one new high-fibre food at a time.
- Aim to increase intake by 3-4g per week.
- Monitor digestive symptoms as you increase fibre.
Focus on consistency rather than perfection.
10. Drink more water
Fibre and water go together. As you increase your fibre intake, your body’s demand for water rises alongside it – fibre absorbs water as it moves through the digestive tract and without adequate hydration it can’t do its job properly. Rather than helping things along, a high-fibre diet without sufficient water can slow digestion down and leave you feeling sluggish and uncomfortable. A useful rule of thumb: for every significant increase in your daily fibre intake, increase your water intake too.
Quick wins:
- Aim for at least 1.5-2 litres of fluid daily.
- Increase water intake as fibre intake rises.
- Carry a water bottle throughout the day.
- Include herbal teas as part of your fluid intake.
- Drink extra fluids during exercise or hot weather.
Read more of Dr Linia’s nutrition expertise on staying hydrated this summer on the FitPro blog.
