Fiber is a type of carbohydrate that the body can’t digest. Though most carbohydrates are broken down into sugar molecules, fiber cannot be broken down into sugar molecules, and instead it passes through the body undigested. Fiber helps regulate the body’s use of sugars, helping to keep hunger and blood sugar in check

 A high fiber diet is usually really beneficial. It often helps to protect us against certain diseases like heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers, and usually does also help with our digestion.

There are two different types of fiber. There is insoluble fiber, which is things like whole grains, and other vegetables and fruit, and then there is soluble fiber, which are more so in the category of vegetables and fruits, but also oats, different legumes. But it can be confusing because most foods are actually a combination of soluble and insoluble fibers, but are some higher in soluble, and some are higher in insoluble than others.

A high fiber diet usually contains about 25 to 35 grams of fibre per day, meaning that you want to aim for high fiber foods at all of your meals and snacks throughout the day, including a diet of meals and snacks full of whole grains and a variety of different vegetables and fruits to get to this goal.

On the other side of things, if you are experiencing problems with digestion, and if you have, for example, irritable bowel disease, where you have flare-ups, then you might actually benefit from a low fibre diet during certain phases.

If you think you will benefit from a low fiber diet, you want to aim for less than 10 grams of fiber per day. So it’s quite a switch from the high fiber diet.

Examples of foods that would be beneficial if you are on a low fiber diet include avoiding whole grains, and instead choosing more of the rich, refined pastas, breads, bagels, crackers, choosing white rice over brown rice, and not necessarily eliminating vegetables and fruit completely as these are extremely nutritious foods, but instead of having canned vegetables and fruits, having applesauce, and cooking your vegetables so that it does decrease the fiber quantity of it. Often seeing a local family physician or a physiotherapist in conjunction with a registered dietitian and athletic therapist is a great option to take control of this condition. Smart Food Now and exercise is also optominal for overall health.    

However, you do want to avoid certain vegetables, such as those that belong to the cruciferous family, so broccoli, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbages, and things like that. Even if they’re cooked, they do have a high amount of fiber, and you wouldn’t want to include that in your diet. Local Dietitian.

Presenter: Ms. Ashley Charlebois, Registered Dietitian, Vancouver, BC

Now Health Network  Local Practitioners: Registered Dietitian