Is fibre the new protein? The surprising health benefits of the latest wellness trend

Last year, many of us went protein-mad in the hopes of boosting our strength and fitness. But over the past few months, fibre has become the hot topic on social media – with only 4% of us getting the recommended daily amount.

Videos of people sprinkling chia seeds on top of porridge and nutritionists lauding the benefits of red kidney beans and chickpeas are filling up people’s TikTok feeds.

The NHS recommends adults eat 30g of fibre a day but most people in the UK aren’t eating even close to that, with the average daily consumption at around 16.4g a day, and women eating less than men.

Many nutritionists say the buzz over fibre isn’t a bad thing. For a long time, fibre was seen as an “unsexy nutrient”, explains dietitian Kate Hilton, mainly due to connotations with our bowels and flatulence, unlike protein which has long been associated with working out and getting fit.

“When I first saw all the posts on fibre, I was pretty thrilled,” says nutritionist Kristen Stavridis. “It feels like the messages around gut health are finally getting through to people.”

As well as benefitting your gut, eating more fibrous food – like brown rice and jacket potatoes – has other benefits too.

“People who have a higher fibre intake will live longer, have less cardiovascular disease, fewer cancers and are at a lower risk of conditions like diabetes,” says Kevin Whelan, professor of Dietetics at King’s College London. He adds that some studies suggest it can help our mental health, too.

Yeshe Sander, 24, from Birmingham, says upping the fibre in her diet to 30g a day has helped her feel “so much better” physically and mentally.

She grew up with parents who tried to get her to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and have a fibre-rich diet but, as she entered her mid-teens, she decided to rebel.

“I wanted nothing to do with healthy food,” Yeshe says. “As a teenager, I would eat huge amounts of chocolate, doughnuts, cookies.”

At college, her favourite quick meals included instant noodles with white toast or frozen pizza.

“It was only when I got a bit older, in my early 20s, that I thought maybe they were onto something,” Yeshe says of her parents.

After feeling sluggish, low and lacking motivation, she re-examined her diet and started to eat more healthily again. After increasing her fibre intake, Yeshe noticed the difference.

“Now I can see it so clearly: when I’m eating more fibre, my mental health gets better,” Yeshe says, “and my anxiety and low mood is reduced.”

Breakfast is her favourite meal and she recommends eating porridge with a variety of toppings as a way to get some fibre in the morning.

Dietary fibre is a chain of sugar molecules produced by plants that cannot be digested by humans. It is found in fruits, vegetables, grains, beans and nuts.

The effects of fibre were first discovered in the 1970s, when it was believed that fibre was just “hard roughage stuff” that helped our bodies get rid of waste, explains Whelan.

“Now we know it’s so much more than that – it has health benefits way beyond the bowel.”

Fermentable fibres in foods like oats and legumes help the good bacteria in our large intestine grow, enriching our gut microbiome.

Insoluble fibres, found in wholegrain bread, bran and the skins of fruit and vegetables, help our poo travel through the gut.

Viscous fibres, found in oats, seeds and some fruits and vegetables, slow down the speed sugar is absorbed and reduce sugar spikes in the bloodstream.

All these different types of fibre, among others, help keep us healthy, Whelan says.

When speaking about the health benefits of fibre consumption, Whelan points to numerous large-scale epidemiological studies, which record a large group of people’s eating habits alongside which diseases they go on to develop.

While these studies don’t always take into account other factors – like demographics, environment, awareness of diet – he says there are also clinical trials that suggest fibre has health benefits for many parts of the body.

Some studies also suggest a high-fibre diet can help improve mental health, says Whelan. A healthy microbiome, fed with prebiotic fibre that boosts health bacteria in the gut, can potentially reduce anxiety and depression risk.

“There is a two-way communication between our brain and our gut, the gut-brain axis,” he says. Clinical trials suggest certain fibres – prebiotic fibres that feed the microbiome – can help improve mood.

One surprising finding from Whelan’s research was that fibre helped improve cognition in people over 60.

Vicky Owens says boosting her fibre intake after a health scare last year has had huge benefits.

As a business owner with little time to devote to cooking, her diet mainly consisted of takeaways and ready meals.

Then the 25-year-old started experiencing unexplained symptoms including panic attacks, gastric issues and swollen, itchy eyes, which, she says, baffled her doctor.

She began to re-evaluate her lifestyle and after an acupuncturist suggested she shake up her diet, it dawned on Vicky she was eating next to no fibre.

She began to cut out ultra-processed foods, instead opting for fresh fruit and vegetables, whole wheat pastas and oats.

Eventually, she started to see huge benefits.”

My skin’s better, I’ve got more energy,” Vicky says, “and I think as a whole everything’s so much more balanced now.”

Small switches are a great way to add more fibre to your meals, says dietitian Hilton. Here are some ideas how to do that:

• Replace white bread with seeded wholegrain bread
• Swap snacks like crisps and chocolate for almonds, kiwis and popcorn
• Add seeds, nuts, fruit or almond butter to your porridge or yogurt
• Change white rice for brown or wholegrain rice, or go half and half
• Add avocado, hummus or salad to your sandwich
• If you like to start your day with cereal, go for something like wheat biscuits, bran flakes or bran sticks

Here’s a sample meal plan from Stavridis on how you can hit 30g fibre in a day (note that fibre quantities vary by brand and portion size):

• Breakfast: Two slices of thick seeded wholemeal toast (7g fibre), with a sliced banana (1.5g fibre) and honey
• Lunch: Baked potato (5g fibre), 100g of baked beans (4g fibre), cheese, tuna, side salad of mixed leaves, followed by one kiwi (2g fibre)
• Snack: One serving (20g) of popcorn (2g fibre)
• Dinner: Beef mince bolognese with kidney beans (5g) and whole wheat spaghetti (6.5g)

People in the UK eat a lot of convenience and ultra-processed foods, which don’t typically contain much fibre, says Hilton.

“The carbohydrates that we consume tend to not be things like whole grains and we have a lot more of a reliance on things like meats to get our proteins, rather than beans or vegetarian sources,” she adds.

Stavridis points out that the recent fixation on protein may have affected some people’s fibre intake too, as some people prioritised it at the cost of other nutrients.

Though protein is important for our health, she says people should stop “obsessing over protein and start tracking fibre” and ensure they’re getting a healthy diet overall.

While eating more fibre is a good thing for most people, for some with conditions like Crohn’s disease and diverticulitis, it is often not recommended and medical advice should be sought before any dietary changes.

Too much too fast can also cause problems, explains Cara Wheatley-McGrain from the Mindful Gut, a wellbeing company which supports people to change their diets.

“Increase slowly – if we suddenly make a dramatic change, our gut goes ‘hang on a minute’, and we can end up with bloating and constipation.”

And make sure to drink plenty of water, she recommends.

While Wheatley-McGrain is “really happy” fibre is finally being taken seriously on socials, she does not want to add additional pressure on young people who are constantly met with a barrage of different diets and eating regimes.

“We need to navigate that to make the best choices for ourselves,” she says. “Add some fibre to your diet slowly, notice how it feels and take it from there.”