Most people know that fibre’s good for you, but in recent years we’ve learnt more about how important fibre is for maintaining our health and general well-being.

What is fibre?
Dietary fibre is found only in plant foods. It’s the part of plants that human digestive juices can’t break down. Fibre is found in the outer bran layers of grains (such as corn, oats, wheat, rice and foods containing these grains), fruits, vegetables, nuts, dried peas, beans and lentils. Many breakfast cereals contain fibre.  Both children and adults who eat breakfast regularly tend to have higher fibre intakes.

The benefits of a high fibre diet

• Helps keep bowels regular and helps keep you healthy on the inside
• High fibre foods can be satisfying and can help reduce hunger, and therefore can help you manage your weight

How much fibre?
Recent recommendations published by the Australian & New Zealand governments, have recommended new minimum adequate intakes of 30g per day for adult males and 25g per day for adult females. Based on current information about how much fibre Australians are eating, most people need to increase their fibre intake. Children and teenagers should consume a little less fibre than adults. For children, the recommendations have also recently changed.

The table below outlines the fibre needs for children aged between 1 and 18 years.

How to get more fibre?
Read labels – the fibre content of foods is listed in the nutrition information panel
Choose whole grain or bran containing breakfast cereals and wholemeal breads
Eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes (such as baked beans).