As You Age, How Much Fibre Should You Eat In a Day?

Blogs07 Aug 2024

Fibre, also known as roughage or bulk, is a plant-derived compound that is essential for our health. As humans, we’re incapable of digesting dietary fibre, however, we still need it to support our digestive health and regular bowel movements. But how much is the right amount of fibre to have?

In this article, we’ll discuss just how much fibre you should have based on age and gender. We’ll also explore some ways you can increase your fibre intake to help you support your digestive health. So, let’s get started!

Why Is Fibre An Important Part of Our Diet

As dietary fiber is ingested through food, it doesn’t get broken down in in the GI tract. However, it gets fermented and produces short chain fatty acids. However, its mere presence in our food can help lower blood cholesterol levels and glucose levels. Insoluble types of fibre can create bulk in the stool and soluble fibre provides satiety.

As we grow older, digestive issues might become more common. With age, our stomach tends to produce less acid and our body's ability to absorb nutrients also reduces. This in turn makes us more prone to digestive issues and other health conditions. Having more fibre can be a way of supporting your body through age-related digestion issues in a healthy way.

Recommended RDA for Fibre for Adults in a Day

Category/ Age group Physical Activity Level Dietary fibre (g/d) Adult men (>18 years) for a body weight of 65 kg Sedentary 30 Moderate 40 Heavy 50 Adult women (>18 years) for a body weight of 55 kg Sedentary 25 Moderate 30 Heavy 40

High-fibre Foods Readily Available in the Indian Diet

Here’s a list of some high-fibre readily available foods along with their fibre content (per 100g according to the IFCT 2017 data):

• Kidney Beans: 36.8g
• Chia seeds: 34.4g
• Lentils: 10.43g
• Oats: 10.1g
• Chickoo: 9.6g
• Dates: 8.9g
• Guava: 8.5g
• Baby corn: 6.9g,
• Peas: 6.32g
• Raisins: 4.5g
• Carrots: 4g

How to Increase Fibre Consumption in Your Diet

• The best way to increase your fibre intake is to add more fibre to your every meal. The easiest way to do so is to add fruits and vegetables to your plate and eat them before you eat your protein and carbs.
• Choose high-fibre snacks instead of unhealthy foods. You can snack on fruits, nuts and seeds or oat-based protein bars between meals to get your fill of fibre and stay healthy.
• Switch out regular ingredients with high-fibre ingredients. For example, choose to mix Ragi flour and other attas with your regular chapati atta to add in some fibre. Swap white rice with brown rice. Ditch white bread and use whole wheat or multigrain bread instead. Such changes can help keep you healthy and increase your fibre intake.

Examples of High-fibre Indian Dishes

1. Vegetable pulao: A delicious pulao made with a selection of vegetables and brown rice can be a nice way of getting in more fibre and having an easy lunch or dinner meal.
2. Moong and Green peas khichdi: A delicious and warm khichdi made with Moong dal, green peas, carrots, onions and spices can be a great source of fibre.
3. Oatmeal khichdi: Cook oats in the desi way with soaked moong dal, cumin seeds, veggies and spices for a wholesome meal.
4. Multigrain cheela: Mix jowar, bajra, and besan with high-fibre vegetables like methi leaves, carrots, onions etc. Add spices and water to make a thick batter. Use this to make piping hot and fibre-rich cheelas.

Tips for Managing Increased Fibre Intake

• Try to gradually increase your fibre intake to avoid digestive discomfort. Too much fibre can also cause a delay in digestion and keep you feeling full for longer. If you want to sleep, it could cause discomfort.
• It’s also important to stay hydrated while consuming more fibre. Fibre can bind with water and help in feeling full and getting its other benefits. So as you increase your fibre intake, you must increase your water intake too.

Conclusion

In short, fibre is an essential part of our diet and is a must-need for supporting our digestive health. The required amount of fibre intake varies for everyone, but it’s typically around 30g per day. And how do you get this fibre? By including more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes in your meals. We hope this blog helps you understand how much fibre you need every day and how you can get it. So prioritise health and fibre for a healthy and happy midlife!

For more such information on nutrition, ageing and health, explore Right Shift. And if you want to take steps toward a healthy life, try our health score calculator. It will show you just what you need to know about your current health status and the kind of work you need to put in. Next, try our free meal plans to boost your health and maintain a nourishing and healthy diet. We even have a plan specifically for good digestive health! Try these tools now and make the right shift today!