What is Dietary Fibre? Benefits, Functions and Requirements

Dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate found in plant foods that cannot be digested by the human body. It offers many health benefits, including promoting digestive health, reducing the risk of heart disease, regulating blood sugar levels, and aiding in weight management.
Shilpa Bhowmick
18 Apr, 2023
12 min read

Welcome to a world where dietary fibre is not just a mundane addition to your plate, but a superfood that can transform your health and well-being. 

Dietary fibre is the unsung hero of our digestive system, providing a range of benefits that go far beyond just preventing constipation. From reducing the risk of chronic diseases to boosting our immune system, the benefits of dietary fibre are truly remarkable. 

So, if you’re ready to discover the power of this humble nutrient, grab a cup of coffee (because it’s good for you, read here if you don’t believe us right now) and settle in for an eye-opening journey into the world of dietary fibre. 

In this article, we’ll reveal to you what is dietary fibre, its functions, benefits, myths attached, and a few interesting facts; nothing will be said without scientific studies strengthening the claims.  

What is Dietary Fibre?

Let’s start with a simple dietary fibre definition. In the food that we eat, not every bit is digestible to our gut. Dietary fibre is a type of carbohydrate found in plant-based foods that the body cannot fully digest or absorb.

Due to this, it passes through the digestive system largely intact, providing bulk to stool and aiding in regular bowel movements. Because of these abilities, dietary fibres are also known as ‘roughage’ or ‘bulk’

These fibres are mainly of two types:

  • Soluble Fibre
  • Insoluble Fibre

Soluble fibre can easily be dissolved in water, thereby creating a gel-like texture. This gel-like texture provides movement to the stool and makes it pass easily. If you’ve ever mixed hot milk in oats, you must have noticed a slime-like texture taking shape, it is because of the presence of soluble fibre. 

On the other hand, in soluble fibre cannot be dissolved in water; this quality makes it provide bulk to the stools. But where does it come from?

Sources of dietary fibre

Different dietary fibre foods provide our bodies with different types of fibre. Depending upon the need of your body, you must tune up or down your intake of these foods. Here are the different types of food rich in dietary fibre:

Foods rich in soluble fibreFoods rich in in soluble fibre
Oats and oatmeal
Barley
Beans and legumes (e.g., lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans)
Apples
Citrus fruits (e.g., oranges, grapefruit)
Berries (e.g., strawberries, raspberries)
Pears
Psyllium husk
Flaxseeds
Chia seeds
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli Carrots
Sweet potatoes
Avocados
Nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts)
Soy products (e.g., tofu, soy milk)
Whole-grain bread and pasta
Wheat bran
Brown rice
Barley
Corn and popcorn
Nuts and seeds (e.g., almonds, peanuts, sunflower seeds)
Vegetables with skin (e.g., potatoes, green beans, zucchini)
Fruit with skin (e.g., apples, pears)
Cabbage
Brussels sprouts
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrots
Celery
Onions
Potatoes 

But how much fibre should one intake in a day? 

Recommended dietary fibre intake

The amount of dietary fibre that one should consume daily depends on various factors, such as age, sex, and activity level. Here is the recommended intake according to the Institute of Medicine:

 Age (Years)Dietary Fibre DRI (g/d)
Children01-0319
 04-0825
Female09-1326
 14-1826
 19-5025
 50+21
Male09-1331
 14-1838
 19-5038
 50+30

It is important to note that many foods contain both soluble and insoluble fibre, and a healthy diet should include a balance of both types. (1)

The average American eats only about 15 grams of fibre per day, which is much lower than the recommended daily intake. (2)

While dietary fibres don’t get digested by our bodies, they still offer tremendous benefits. But before we move on to their many benefits, let’s understand the dietary fibre function.

What is the function of Dietary Fibre?

Your creative brain might easily question that if fibre is indigestible by our bodies and does not provide any nutrient support, why do we need it?

Well, when it comes to the human body, it works in many different ways. Although the intake of energy and nutrient is vital, it is not the only requirement. This is similar to the function of greasing in machinery. Grease does not make the vehicle run, but it helps the vehicle run smoothly and efficiently. 

The dietary fibre function is somewhat similar; fibres add bulk to the stool and help regulate bowel movements. By absorbing water and increasing the volume of stool, these fibres help prevent constipation and promote regularity.

What more? Fibre also slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, which can be beneficial for individuals with diabetes.

Another function of dietary fibre is to promote feelings of fullness and satiety. High-fibre foods take longer to chew and digest, which can help reduce overall calorie intake by promoting a feeling of fullness with fewer calories consumed.

Certain types of dietary fibre, such as soluble fibre, can also act as prebiotics, providing food for beneficial bacteria in the gut.

While the human body cannot digest dietary fibre, it plays an important role in maintaining digestive health and overall well-being. 

Benefits of Dietary Fibre

Benefits of dietary fibre

Humans are not the only beings that eat fibre. Some omnivorous animals, such as primates, also consume significant amounts of dietary fibre as part of their diets. It is done because of its many benefits. Let’s emphasize the importance of dietary fibre by looking at the many benefits it offers.

1. Improved digestion and bowel health

No matter if millions you earn, disrupted digestive health can make you curse your life. Good digestive health has been attributed to peace and prosperity not only in the Vedic wisdom but also in the other scriptures. Dietary fibre aids and enhances digestion, thereby promoting bowel health. 

Fibre adds bulk to the stool and helps it pass easily. Most diseases root when the stools are not passed and the food is not digested properly. Also, prebiotics (a type of dietary fibre) acts as the food for the healthy gut bacteria in our intestines.

This helps them sustain and grow in number. When the number of good bacteria increases, they work like a healthy workforce digesting food effectively and efficiently. The better the digestion, the better overall health remains. (3)

By adding bulk to the stool, preventing constipation, promoting stool regularity, feeding healthy gut bacteria, and lowering the risk of bowel disorders, dietary fibre aids digestion and bowel health.

2. Lowered cholesterol levels

Increased cholesterol levels clog the blood vessels. This often blocks the blood supply to the heart and leads to a number of heart diseases. 

Soluble fibre, by binding itself to the bile acids in the intestine and preventing their absorption, lowers cholesterol levels. This helps reduce the risk of several heart diseases. (4)

Fibre intake can affect the gut microbiome, trillions of bacteria that live in our digestive tract, which influences overall health.

3. Better weight management

Obesity has become a pandemic that is consuming people every day at a constantly increasing rate. Today, 13% of the world suffers from obesity, whereas, 39% suffer due to being overweight. The prime reasons behind this are poor diet, less physical activity, and overeating. (5)

4. Improved blood sugar control

Nearly 537 million adults suffer from diabetes today, 1 in 10, and this number is set to rise further. This disease, in its more brutal form, leads to heart disease, stroke, high BP, atherosclerosis, etc. (6)

Dietary fibre cannot be broken down and digested by our bodies. Eating these carbs slows down the absorption of digestible carbs in our bodies; because carbs lead to a sudden spike in insulin release, this slowed absorption puts control over sudden release. This increased spike in insulin is the reason behind blood sugar and diabetes. 

Having a diet high in fibre thus leads to better regulation of blood sugar levels and reduces the risk of developing conditions like type 2 diabetes. (7)

3. Reduced risk of chronic diseases

Intake of required dietary fibre has been associated with a lowered risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, etc. Here is how it does the same:

  • Soluble fibre, by binding itself to the bile acids in the intestine and preventing their absorption, lowers cholesterol levels. This helps reduce the risk of several heart diseases. (8)
  • Because fibre makes us feel full, it stops us from overeating and thus aids weight management
  • Certain types of fibre, like beta-glucans found in oats and barley, can help to reduce inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is a contributing factor to many chronic diseases.
  • By improving overall gut health, dietary fibres help our bodies extract more energy from food and thus increasing immunity.

Always increase your fibre intake gradually to allow your body to adapt and avoid any discomfort like bloating, gas, and cramping.

How to Incorporate More Dietary Fibre into Your Diet

We all understand how a healthy diet leads to a healthy lifestyle; however, bringing this knowledge into practice is one of the toughest mountains to climb in the world. So, here is how you must try incorporating dietary fibre into your lifestyle:

  • Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of dietary fibre. Try bringing these into your diet; also, try not to peel them off, as you might unknowingly throw away lots of fibre.
  • Always pick up whole grains over refined versions.
  • Add Aashirvaad Multigrain Atta to your diet as they are rich in dietary fibres. You get 35% of your daily fibre requirement covered in just 3 rotis made from Aashirvaad Multigrain Atta. 
  • Adding beans and legumes to your meal is a good choice that will even provide you with plenty of protein.
  • Snacking on dry fruits is one of the yummiest and yet healthiest habits.
  • Include high-fibre cereal in your breakfast.
  • Infuse flaxseeds and chia seeds in smoothies, oatmeal, and yoghurt.
  • And lastly, don’t be stingy when it comes to drinking water. This is highly necessary to prevent constipation when you increase your fibre intake. (9)

What happens when you don’t take enough fibre?

Today, countries like America suffer from low fibre intake, and that too below 50%. This low fibre intake has been linked to numerous health-related downfalls. Here is what could happen to your body if you stay low on your dietary fibre:

  • Constipation
  • Weight gain and obesity
  • Increased heart disease
  • Type-2 diabetes 
  • Colorectal cancer
  • IBS
  • Haemorrhoids
  • Diverticulitis (10)(11)

Conclusion

The human body functions gracefully when all its needs for micro and macronutrients are met. Dietary fibre, although is an indigestible part that our body can’t process, is still vital to our health. Our guts work like powerhouses to our bodies; the better they stay, the more we giggle and laugh.

By providing bulk and motion to our stools and being food for our gut microbiome, it enhances our gut and overall health. This keeps us far away from deadly diseases like diabetes, heart issues, obesity, colorectal cancer, etc. 

The best way to have fibre is to go for natural dietary fibre foods. This is to ensure that not only you get fibre but other nutrients as well. Supplements can be taken if you are unable to get enough of them from whole foods.

Throughout history, cultures have recognized the wisdom of incorporating fibre-rich foods into their diets for optimal health and longevity. So keep up the good work and let your gut have its blessings. 

FAQs

Can I have dietary fibre daily?

There is no evidence of the adverse effects of fibre supplements like psyllium husk when taken in the recommended quantity. 

Does fibre affect kidneys?

High-fibre food is said to have a positive effect on the kidney.

Can fibre reduce gas?

Yes, fibre can help reduce gas. However, you must incorporate high-fibre slowly into your diet.

Which fibre causes gas?

Insoluble fibre, found in many root vegetables and cruciferous vegetables, corn, wheat barn, etc remains fibrous inside the stomach. This causes the food to pass quickly from the intestine and may sometime cause a feeling of gas when taken in large quantities.