The Benefits of Getting More Fibre in Your Diet

The Benefits of Getting More Fibre in Your Diet

When was the last time that you got excited about fibre? Didn’t think so. However, something that you probably don’t even think about on a daily basis could in fact be a gamechanger in your diet. Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of having a fibre-rich diet.

1. Fibre is Great for Weight Loss

Even if the only thing that you change about your diet right now is the amount of fibre in it, then you’re guaranteed to start shedding the pounds. A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that increasing your fibre intake by just 30 grams a day could help you lose weight. In the study, those that increased their fibre intake by this much on a daily basis lost just as much as another group that had to adjust many other aspects of their diet, including their sugar and salt intake.

The thing about foods that are rich in fibre is that they not only fill you up a lot quicker, but they also prevent your body from absorbing some of the calories in the foods that you eat. This is because fibre has the ability to bind with sugar and fat molecules as they go through your digestive system, which is going to reduce the number of calories that your body absorbs.

2. Helps You Maintain a Healthier Weight in the Long Run

So, you’ve gotten the weight off by upping your fibre intake, and that’s all well and good. But, did you know that fibre can also help you maintain a healthier weight over time as well? Not only can it get you to the right number on the scale, but it can help you stay there. People who get more fibre in their diet tend to be leaner in general, while those that are overweight got an average of 1 gram less of fibre, as shown in a study conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina.

3. Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease

It’s well known that in the Western world, heart disease is one of the biggest killers, and while there are a multitude of reasons for this, one of the biggest is that fact that we have so much sugar and salt in our diets. So, if you want to try and avoid one of the 21^st century’s biggest killers, and live a long and healthy life, try swapping out some of the sugar and salt in your diet for fibre.

Studies that were published in BMJ showed that for every 7 grams of fibre that you eat every day, you risk of heart disease drops by a whopping 9%. One of the biggest reasons for this is that fibre is really good at absorbing any excess cholesterol in your system, and sending it out of the body, so that it doesn’t get clogged up in your arteries instead.

4. Helps You Have a Healthier Gut

The thing about health is that it is holistic, which means that every aspect of your health, both physical and physiological, comes into play when trying to keep your body functioning well. In your gut, you have both good and bad bacteria, and there are certain things that we can do to encourage the growth of the good bacteria. One of these things is feed them fibre. The good bacteria in our guts love feeding off fibre, and when they do they produce a host of short-chain fatty acids that benefit your body in a number of ways.

These are being able to reduce inflammation, and ensure that your gut is working as it should. The only thing to note here is that you need to be getting enough fibre every day for a long period of time to see the benefits, so it pays to be consistent.

A Holistic Approach to Our Body’s Health

Here at Velettá, we believe in a holistic approach to health, which means that we believe that every aspect of the body comes into play at some point to make up the whole. This is why we are not only passionate about what’s happening on the inside, but what’s happening on the outside as well. When you are taking care of your skin, you are taking care of everything else. Velettá is a cruelty-free, New Zealand-made skincare range that makes the most of what Mother Nature has to offer.