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Home > Vegan Nutrition > Fibre for Vegans

Fibre for Vegans

Fibre for vegan diets - how to eat enough fibre as a vegan

Fibre intake is associated with numerous health benefits. However, most people in North America consume far less than the daily recommended intake levels. Fibre may be my favourite nutrient. I love helping people increase fibre intake because it’s one nutrient where people can often feel the effects (hopefully in a good way!).

  1. What is Fibre?
  2. What Fibre Does in the Body
  3. Daily Intake Requirements of Fibre
  4. How to Consume Enough Fibre
  5. Vegan Food Sources of Fibre

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What is Fibre?

Fibre refers to a group of carbohydrate compounds that are not broken down by the body 1. Instead, they either pass through the intestinal tract untouched or are digested by the good bacteria that live in the intestinal tract 1.

There are many different types of fibre found in foods and several ways to classify types of fibre.

The most common classification method for fibre is whether the fibre mixes with water or not.

With this type of classification system, the two main types of fibre are:

  • Soluble fibre: Soluble fibre mixes with water and creates a gel in the intestinal tract. The gel that is created is very similar to what happens when you make a chia seed pudding or a flaxseed “egg”.
  • Insoluble fibre: Insoluble fibre does not mix with water. This type of fibre typically moves through the digestive tract unchanged and is often considered a good “bulking” agent (for increasing stool size).

The types of fibre could also be classified based on whether it is digested (aka fermented) by gut bacteria or not.

Additionally, there’s a type of carbohydrate called resistant starch. Most starch found in food is digested by humans however there are some starch molecules that are not digestible. These are called resistant starches (resistant to digestion) 1.

What Fibre Does in the Body

The primary role of fibre is to provide bulk to stool. Since much of the fibre we eat is left intact, it moves through us whole and creates the bulk of our stool (stool = poop). This bulk helps keep things moving through the digestive tract which can be very beneficial for health. In this way, fibre intake could also help with constipation.

Fibre also helps keep us feeling full, literally. Fibre physically keeps our intestines full since it isn’t broken down.

Another important role of fibre is to “feed” the healthy gut bacteria we have. Most gut bacteria lives in the large intestine. By the time food gets down into the large intestine, it’s mostly digested and absorbed so there isn’t much left beside the fibre (which isn’t digested or absorbed). This fibre then becomes food for the healthy gut bacteria. When bacteria break down fibre, it creates short chain fatty acids which may also play an important and positive role in health.

Increased fibre intake has been associated with decreased risk for:

  • Cardiovascular disease 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7including high blood pressure 8, 9, 10, high cholesterol 11, 12 and stroke 13
  • Type 2 diabetes1, 14, 15
  • Obesity/ weight management1, 6
  • Colorectal cancer 1, 16
  • Breast cancer 17, 18
  • Head and neck cancer 19, 20
  • Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis 21, 22
  • Total risk of mortality 23, 24, 25

Fibre intake may also be helpful in the treatment of the above conditions and:

  • Irritable bowel syndrome 1, 26
  • Cardiovascular disease progression 27
  • Kidney disease 28

If you have any of these conditions, you need to be under the supervision and care of a medical doctor/ team. Always speak to a doctor before making any changes to your diet.

Daily Intake Requirements of Fibre

The Canadian recommendations for fibre intake are: 29

  • 38 grams per day for men age 19-50
  • 30 grams per day for men age 51 and over
  • 25 grams per day for women age 19-50 (pregnant and breastfeeding women have separate recommendations)
  • 21 grams per day for women age 51 and over

Overall, Canadians do not meet these recommended daily intakes. In fact, most Canadians only get half their recommended daily intake 29.

On the other hand, someone following a mostly whole food plant-based diet could get double this recommended amount on a regular basis! While more is not always better, the foods that contain fibre also provide other health benefits so additional intake could be a good idea for many people (not everyone benefits from increased fibre – always talk to your doctor before making changes to your diet and work with a dietitian to implement appropriate dietary changes).

How to Consume Enough Fibre

As with any lifestyle change, it can be challenging for people to increase the amount of fibre they eat. The best way to succeed with lifestyle changes is to set SMART goals. These are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound.

For example, setting a goal like “I will increase my intake of fibre” does not meet any of the above SMART criteria. Instead, aim to set a goal more like “For the next 2 weeks I will add one serving of a high fibre food to my breakfast meals”. This goal is much more specific, measurable (“one serving”), likely more achievable and time-bound (“2 weeks”). You could take this goal a step further by specifying the high fibre food(s) you would include.

Setting smaller goals can help you achieve them because they’re more realistic. Beyond being more realistic, when working towards increasing fibre intake, going slowly can be important.

Fibre intake can help with digestive health, however some people may notice “side effects” when they start to increase their intake of fibre. The most noted symptoms seem to be bloating, gas and general abdominal discomfort. While these symptoms can certainly happen with increased fibre intake, research shows that humans can tolerate high levels of fibre without any long-term health impacts 30.

Nevertheless, it’s generally recommended to slowly increase fibre intake over time to reduce the chance of any negative “side effects” 29.

It’s also extremely helpful to consume enough fluids when increasing fibre intake. Water and other fluids can help keep masses moving properly in the digestive tract and help with the transition to higher fibre intake.

Vegan Food Sources of Fibre

Unless a vegan food has undergone a process to remove all the fibre, most vegan foods contain at least a little bit of fibre. All whole plant-based foods contain fibre so if these are included in the diet, it’s quite possible to meet (or exceed) intake recommendations.

If you are looking to increase fibre intake, it’s helpful to know what foods are highest in fibre. Whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds do vary in their fibre content but there is less variation compared to the fruits and vegetables.

With fruits and vegetables, there is more variation in fibre content so to help out, here are lists of high fibre vegetables and fruits.

Higher fibre vegetables include: 29

  • Sweet potato
  • Green peas
  • Corn
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Carrots
  • Squash
  • Pumpkin
  • Edamame
  • Spinach
  • Collard greens
  • Snap peas
  • Cabbage
  • Brussels sprouts

Higher fibre fruits include:

  • Berries, including cherries
  • Avocado
  • Pear (with the skin)
  • Prunes
  • Banana
  • Stone fruits (plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots)
  • Kiwifruit
  • Papaya

All other vegetables and fruits contain fibre, to varying levels. They are also healthy to include in the diet. For most people, setting any goal to increase vegetables and fruits is a great place to start but if you enjoy any of the foods on these lists then selecting them could increase overall fibre intake.

Summary: Fibre for Vegans

Fibre is an important but often overlooked nutrient. Fibre has many roles in the body and increased fibre intake is associated with decreased risk of many diseases. Intake of fibre may also be helpful to treat certain conditions (always speak to your doctor before making any changes to  your diet). It can be quite possible to meet or exceed fibre intake recommendations on a plant-based diet, as long as some emphasis is placed on consuming whole plant-based foods.

Working with a dietitian can be an excellent choice for achieving nutrition goals for long-term health.

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References cited:

  1. Dietary fibre
  2. Associations of Dietary Fiber Intake With Long-Term Predicted Cardiovascular Disease Risk and C-Reactive Protein Levels (from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Data [2005e2010])
  3. Dietary fibre intake and risk of cardiovascular disease: systematic review and meta-analysis
  4. Lower lifetime dietary fiber intake is associated with carotid artery stiffness: the Amsterdam Growth and Health Longitudinal Study
  5. Association between dietary fibre intake and fruit, vegetable or whole-grain consumption and the risk of CVD: results from the PREvención con DIeta MEDiterránea (PREDIMED) trial
  6. Consumption of cereal fiber, mixtures of whole grains and bran, and whole grains and risk reduction in type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease
  7. Dietary fiber intake modifies the association between secondhand smoke exposure and coronary heart disease mortality among Chinese non-smokers in Singapore
  8. Effects of dietary fibre type on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of healthy individuals
  9. Dietary Fiber and Blood Pressure A Meta-analysis of Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials
  10. Total, insoluble and soluble dietary fibre intake in relation to blood pressure: the INTERMAP Study
  11. Effect of a Very–High-Fiber Vegetable, Fruit, and Nut Diet on Serum Lipids and Colonic Function
  12. Lipid Lowering with Soluble Dietary Fiber
  13. High dietary fiber intake prevents stroke at a population level
  14. Fiber intake and glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
  15. Higher intake of fruits, vegetables or their fiber reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes: A meta-analysis
  16. Dietary fibre, whole grains, and risk of colorectal cancer: systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies
  17. Dietary fbre intake and risk of breast cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiological studies
  18. Fiber intake modulates the association of alcohol intake with breast cancer
  19. Dietary fiber and the risk of precancerous lesions and cancer of the esophagus: a systematic review and meta-analysis
  20. Dietary fiber intake and head and neck cancer risk: A pooled analysis in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology consortium
  21. A Prospective Study of Long-term Intake of Dietary Fiber and Risk of Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
  22. Dietary fiber intake reduces risk of inflammatory bowel disease: result from a meta-analysis
  23. Dietary Fiber Intake and Total Mortality: A Meta-Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
  24. Fiber intake and all-cause mortality in the Prevencio´ n con Dieta Mediterra´ nea (PREDIMED) study
  25. Dietary Fiber and Telomere Length in 5674 U.S. Adults: An NHANES Study of Biological Aging
  26. Effect of fibre, antispasmodics, and peppermint oil in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis
  27. Cereal fiber and whole-grain intake are associated with reduced progression of coronary-artery atherosclerosis in postmenopausal women with coronary artery disease
  28. High dietary fiber intake is associated with decreased inflammation and all-cause mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease
  29. Food Sources of Fibre
  30. High dietary fiber consumption is not associated with gastrointestinal discomfort in a diet intervention trial

Please note that this is a curated list of references for the topics above and is not intended to be comprehensive.

Disclaimer: it is always advised for you to speak with your doctor before making any changes to your diet; please read our full website disclaimer.

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