Fibre is a star of whole grain, which provides you with many health benefits

WHAT IS FIBRE?

Fibre is a part of plant foods that is indigestible by the body. Fibre is found in foods like vegetables, whole grains, fruits ,nuts and seeds. Fibre can be either soluble or insoluble

Why is fibre Important?

Soluble fibre (which dissolves in water) can help

• Lower your blood cholesterol level
• Blood sugar levels are under control
• Fibre prevents diabetes and heart diseases
• Fibre helps you feel fuller for longer thus reducing your weight

Insoluble Fibre (which does not dissolve in water) can help keep your gut healthy and prevent constipation.

Dietary fibre may also help prevent colon cancer.

How much fibre do I need?

Current recommendations are from the United States National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine.

Depending on your age and gender, aim for the following amount of fibre each day:

Age (years)	Male	Female
1 to 3	7 g	5 g
4 to 8	9 g	9 g
9 to 13	31 g	26 g
14 to18	38 g	26 g
19 to 50	38 g	25 g
51 to 70+	30 g	21 g
Pregnancy (any age)	/	28 g
Breast feeding (any age)	/	2

How to increase the amount of fibre in my diet?

• Add high fibre whole grains to your breakfast like whole wheat dalia
• Having two pieces of fruit and five servings of vegetables a day.
• Add small amount of nuts and seeds as a snack in your diet
• Eating 100% whole grain bread and brown rice
• You can also add extra bran(chokar) in your wheat flour to make it more fibrous