Following a specific diet isn’t always recommended especially when those diets include fad foods or eating practices. However, there is one diet that is recommended for everyone by Doctors, dieticians and weight loss specialists; A high fibre diet. Not only are high fibre diets good for your digestion they can also help you lose weight.
Benefits
Fibre is typically low in fat and has fewer calories than refined or processed foods. You’ll also consume fewer calories on a high fibre diet. The reason is that eating more high fibre foods makes you feel full faster meaning you’ll consume fewer calories by cutting out seconds or snacks between meals.
Another advantage to eating high fibre foods is that they help to stabilize blood sugar levels, thus preventing glycemic peaks and valleys. That means a high fibre diet is good for those at risk of or already battling diabetes. High fibre diets have also shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.
Using high fibre diets as a weight loss or weight management program is not something new. Many well known and successful weight loss programs, including Weightwatchers uses a high fibre approach to meal planning. To see weight loss results with a high fibre diet you should increase your fibre intake to 50 grams per day.
High Fibre Foods
Fibre found in fruit, vegetables, beans and whole grains will help to increase your intake of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. The best source of fibre comes from food that have had the least amount of processing. Man made food processing removes most of the goodness found in natural food. Good sources of fibre can be found in:
- Porridge and oats
- Whole grain cereals
- Whole meal bread or pasta
- Brown rice
- Baked potatoes (including the skin)
- Fresh fruit
- Vegetables
- Beans
- Lentils
- Peas
- Dried fruit
- Natural nuts and seeds
As you can see from the above list there are lots of choices for high fibre foods. The general misconception is that fibre is bland and tasteless but that just isn’t true.
You can see all the benefits to adding fibre to your diet. Not only does fibre improve your weight and health, a lack of fibre can lead to poor digestion, stomach problems and other related ailments. Eating more fibre will help the body eliminate waste more efficiently allowing all body functions to perform better.