The Secret Power of Fibre - YLAM250035

SPEAKER 1 This program presents ways to optimise health and well being. When considering lifestyle changes, please consult with your healthcare provider to assure they are suitable for you. Hello and welcome. I'm Kaysie Vokurka. In Western countries, most people do not eat enough fibre. In Australia, surveys indicate that over 80% of the population do not consume the recommended amount for health. This is even higher in other Western countries. Why is fibre important? Stay with us as we learn about the secret power of fibre. This is yous Lifestyle as medicine, a production of 3 ABN Australia Television. It's so good to have you with us as we learn more about how you can shape your lifestyle as medicine. We are very happy to have Selina Reyno with us once more to take us through the topic of fibre. Selina is a clinical Dietitian with over 14 years experience working at Loma Linda University Hospital and she has been privileged to work with adults and children and is passionate about wellness nutrition. Welcome to the program once more, Selina. SPEAKER 2 Thank you Kaysie. Thanks for having me. SPEAKER 1 Pleasure. Thank you for giving of your time to share your knowledge on this program. Really, really appreciate that. I'm really excited to talk about the topic today. Fiber. As we talked about in the introduction, it's something that's very much a need for us today to be reminded of how important fiber is. And I'm just wondering from your perspective as a clinical dietitian, what difference would it make if we all ate enough fiber? SPEAKER 2 Oh, I think 80% of the issues we face in the hospitals comes to us not choosing to eat the right foods. And mainly one of them is fiber. Not having enough of it. SPEAKER 1 That's a lot. If you're thinking like 80%, 8 out of 10 people maybe wouldn't even be in a hospital if they, they had the foods which have all the fiber in it. That, that's quite a big difference. SPEAKER 2 I think a lot of recent studies have shown that most of the diseases that we face today are lifestyle based issues that are hospitalizations. Yeah. And especially I think western countries diet. Yeah. I think with diet it could change a lot of the trajectory of where we are going in terms of lifestyle and disease. SPEAKER 1 Absolutely. SPEAKER 2 Yeah. SPEAKER 1 Yeah. All right, so tell us then about you've selected the topic the Secret Power of Fiber which intrigues me that that title. What is it? What's into in behind this Secret Power of Fiber? So tell us what is fiber and where does it come from? SPEAKER 2 Well, I chose that topic mainly because not many people understand a lot about what fiber is and I think the, the, the thing that I love Most about it is that this term fiber is something that doesn't provide calories, you don't absorb it into your bloodstream. And then the question comes out as why do we need it? And a fun fact, you know, most animals, or almost all animals do not actually eat fiber to as needed for their body. And a lot of like the carnivores, all of those animals do not eat any fiber to survive. And yet God has given us fiber to us as humans to consume for a special reason. And I that's why I think it's a secret weapon that we as humans or in our generation require to stay healthy. And I think it is the secret to longevity. And most animals don't need it because they only live 10, 15 years. But we, in order to gain optimal health, and if you want to live long, fiber is the key. SPEAKER 1 I've never thought of that, to be honest about thinking of animals and their needs and the fact that they get away without having it. But for us, we do so much better with it. So that's very interesting to compare that. And so yeah, what is fiber? You mentioned that it's something which we don't really get energy from. It's not something which we can actually digest. But what actually is it? SPEAKER 2 Well, it goes back to when the ancient Romans actually called it roughage. And in their times they observed themselves eating all these grains and vegetables and noticed how much easier digestion that they had. And their diet was based on a lot of whole based plant foods like wheat, barley, millet, lentils, cabbage, which is naturally high in fiber. Of course the Romans back then did not know the, the science behind what we know today. But fiber basically, if you break it down, is one type of carbohydrate that our body cannot digest but is required to keep our gut, our intestines, our colon clean. And it's very necessary. And there are two types of fiber, that's the soluble fiber and the insoluble fiber. Now you'll see on the screen the insoluble fiber looks like a brush, it looks a little bit rough. Therefore we do need that roughage to be paired with the soluble fiber, which is a gel like form. So I don't think anyone would like to have a bowel movement with insoluble fiber on it. On its own it would be very painful. So the soluble fiber is a jelly like substance that sticks to the insoluble fiber, adding bulk to our intestinal excretion so that when we do pass, have a bowel movement, the, the Stool is very soft. And if you are having enough fiber, you would not be constipated, you would not have to strain, you would not need to be pushing or having gut issues as we face today with a lot of people. SPEAKER 1 Hmm, that's very interesting. Those two pictures is the way you describe it there. So the insoluble fiber is like. It's like a brush that helps keep us clean inside in our gut, but the soluble fiber is kind of like smoothing the way through so that it doesn't feel like we're being brushed out inside. That's a good way of putting it. I like how those two are working together. Yeah. So those. That's really important for us to feel comfortable then, isn't it, in our digestive system. SPEAKER 2 And I think that's what all. Basically essentially what fiber is, is a cleaning system for our intestines. And to make sure any bug or anything that's unwanted in there to constantly being cleaned out is very important to our gut health. And when we neglect to consume enough fiber, that's where we have issues. And in terms of bloating cancers, we've got colon cancers, you know, even down to like intestinal cancers and constipation, diverticulitis, ibs, all of that contributes from the beginning with you not having enough fiber. And that's not keeping your gut clean because you've lost. It's almost like you have a house, but you don't have a broom. And how are you going to keep your house clean without a broom? And that's essentially when you throw out that fiber, you are throwing out the cleaning tool that cleans out your body. SPEAKER 1 That's, yeah. Very important to, I guess, think of it like that, isn't it? Because those conditions that you mentioned, especially constipation, it's kind of like where instead of flowing through the wastage, just sits there, doesn't it? And it's kind of. The longer it's sitting there, it's going to go bad. It's going to. The bugs are going to multiply. And then of course, our gut health and risk of disease is. Is going to increase dramatically. So, yeah, keeping clean housekeeping inside. I like that. That reminder. SPEAKER 2 Yeah, definitely. And I think it's. So many people don't see it as important or valuable. And I think it's very important. If we look at food as medicine, as a way of cleaning our body, as a way of feeding our body, rather than just eating something we like or something as an entertainment. And a lot of times I like to Tell my clients or my patients that you eat to maintain the health of your body. And we wouldn't take our car, that's a diesel car, and fill it up with petrol because that would not allow your car to function. And it's the same way as making sure we have the fiber. And when we choose the right types of fiber to eat, it will. It will give us enough energy and it will fuel us for long term, and we will live optimally without any pain, without health issues, without gut issues. And I think that's where it starts in the choices of food that we make. SPEAKER 1 Definitely. Very important. Yeah. Now, you mentioned before that it's a carbohydrate and something about fiber being. SPEAKER 2 Your. SPEAKER 1 Body can't digest it. Is that what makes it different from the starches and sugars that are also carbohydrates? SPEAKER 2 Yes. So the carbohydrates that we talked about in a previous lecture, we look at the carbohydrates in two components, the simple sugars and the complex soluble and insoluble fiber falls under the complex, complex carbohydrates. It is not a starch, but it is another part of what we call the fiber which does not break down. And this is the fiber that stabilizes our blood sugar and stops us from getting hungry from our blood sugar spiking and cleans our gut, lowers our cholesterol and a lot of other issues that stems from digestion. SPEAKER 1 And obviously the blood sugar effect, it's not because your body is working hard to break the fiber down. It's more because the fiber is holding up the release of the. The starches that your body actually can break down. Is that. Is that correct? That's what's going on. SPEAKER 2 That's right. That's right. So if you look at an apple. SPEAKER 1 Yeah. SPEAKER 2 The outside of the skin of the apple is what we call the complex carbohydrate. It's rough. And I guess that's why the Romans would say that's your roughage. Or if you ate a pie of celery, all those fibers. SPEAKER 1 Yes. SPEAKER 2 That you eat is not digestible. And that's what we call the complex carbohydrates. And together with that, we do have other carbohydrates, which is the simple carbohydrates. And that's bound to the insoluble fiber, which is the. The fiber. And when you eat it together, both together, working together, provides the energy from the simple sugars released slowly. But the fiber is what slows the release of that sugar, which is Very important to maintaining satiety and the food that we eat to keep us full for longer and not wanting to crave to eat again. SPEAKER 1 It's just incredible to, to understand and see how all of these different components are working together in, in nature, in the way it's. God has made it to, to give us the best possible results for our health. It's just incredible to see that. SPEAKER 2 Yeah, I think it's, it's, you know, it's very complex, but yet very simple and doable if we can understand it and applicable at home. And you don't need much help to do that. And I think with fiber, if you eat that apple on the outside, you've got the insoluble fiber on the inside of the apple. There's still fibers in there, but it's more softer, which we call the soluble fiber. And that's where they both work together. So if you only ate the skin of the apple, you would have a rough time in your gut. That's why God has given us the tough part, plus the soft enjoyable part. But a lot of times we like to peel off the skin of the outside of the, the fiber and take away the insoluble part and just eat the soluble fiber. It's still good, but it does not still give us enough fiber to be able to get that cleaning action going through. And that's what we want. So I would suggest, you know, eating fiber requirements. Eat as much of the skin as you can that's edible. Of course you don't want to go and eat like a watermelon skin or an orange peel, but you know, like the apple peel, the apple peels, pear, grapes, all of those have that insoluble fiber on the outside of the skin. And I even tell people if you're eating a potato or a sweet potato, keep the skin on because that's where the fiber is and it doesn't give you any calories anyways. That is the cleaning mechanism of how your body cleans your gut. And so I know it doesn't, it's not as palatable as you would like. But think of it as you're putting that into your body to clean and to keep you healthy. SPEAKER 1 And I think also you could tell, I guess, just by visualizing and looking at those different types of foods in the skin, that's often where there's extra color and even minerals and vitamins that are extra packed in there bound up with the fiber is that's correct, isn't it? SPEAKER 2 Definitely. I. Most of the minerals and Most of the fibers that come attached with these micro minerals, micronutrients, comes in the skin. And when we peel that off or when we process it, you know, like we talked about taking brown rice and taking off the husk of it, you're taking away the. All the mineral, good minerals that comes attached with that fiber and that your body can still absorb. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, yeah. So you're not just, you're not just losing the fiber, really, you're losing what comes with it, which is really good for you. Interesting. So obviously Australians and in other Western countries, we don't eat enough fiber in general. How much should we eat? Like, what does that look like in terms of getting enough fiber that our gut health would be doing much better? SPEAKER 2 Well, the Australian dietary guidelines, they have put out a recommendation. They were saying that Australians generally get less than 15 grams a day. And they are recommending 25 grams a day for adult women and 30 grams a day for adult men. There's nothing wrong with getting more and, but they are recommending that as a minimum to. To get. And you know, it's very easy to get if you are consuming a lot of whole fruits and vegetables and whole grains, nuts and seeds. The issue would come is if you're eating a lot of processed foods and you're getting things that have already processed with that, where you're eating a lot of white breads, white rice and potatoes with the skin taken off and fried, and all of that comes mostly with zero food fiber. So changing that just a little bit, instead of eating canned pears, maybe get a whole pear and eat it with the skin. Or instead of peeling your potato and getting French fries, having a whole potato that's baked and eating it with the. Or steaming a sweet potato and eating that. And instead of eating brown rice, ch. I mean, white rice, choose to eat a whole grain brown rice or millet or a lentil or, you know, a grain that will give you back that vitamin. SPEAKER 1 Yeah. So making those choices, it sounds like there's something at every meal kind of thing that you would pick to. To make sure you've got those higher fiber foods that would really go a long way to getting it. SPEAKER 2 Yeah, I would, I would recommend about five different servings of vegetables. And one serving of a vegetable is usually, if it's cooked, half a cup, if it's raw, one cup. So if you like salads, having, you know, two cups of a salad at night is not really much. You know, usually you could eat a nice big bowl of salad and that would be easily two to Three cups. And then for a lunch, having some steamed vegetables and that would reach you a quota of about five servings. And then have two servings of fruit and then at least a whole grain at each meal. So for example, having oatmeal for breakfast and having a brown rice for lunch and maybe some nuts and seeds for dinner with your salad, that would give you essentially enough fiber for your day, about 25 to 30 grams. SPEAKER 1 So if people aren't used to having that much, it's a matter of just looking at each meal and saying, okay, what can I either add or swap out? There would be a higher fiber food source to try and help lift up the number, the number of grams. SPEAKER 2 And I would. SPEAKER 1 Having. SPEAKER 2 Yeah, I would recommend if you, if you are very low in your fiber, I wouldn't just jump ship and just go full on high fiber because you will get some bloating. You will, your stomach will, your gut will be like, hello, what is this? And maybe reject that for a few days. So going slow, I think introducing, maybe instead of white bread, just start off with a wholemeal bread and then slowly introduce more fruits and then a bit more vegetables or you know, just start to take out and eliminate one by one the amount of processed foods that you have and decreasing the amount of juice, you know, and drinks that you take that essentially has no fiber in it as well. And eating the fruit. So that would give you less calories, more fiber and better gut health. And I think to mention, you know, we are really big these days on prebiotics and probiotics and people go out and buy powders that is like, and mix it with their drinks and drink it and say this is a probiotic, prebiotic. Actually a prebiotic is just fiber and it's basically in your prebiotic, it's basically skins of fruits and vegetables blended up and you buying that off the shelf and putting it into your drink and drinking it. And I always tell, I tell my kids all the time we were in the supermarket, like, this is a waste of money. Look how much it is. You know, prebiotic for $25. I was like, you just need to eat some skin of some fruit and vegetables. You'll get your prebiotics. And I think people don't realize that. And the probiotics is basically just your gut flora that's been maintained by the prebiotic. So if you are eating high fiber diet and you're basically feeding good bacteria back into your stomach and the probiotic, you don't need to take a probiotic. If you have enough fiber in your diet because the prebiotic is feeding the bacteria and your bacteria is growing on its own. So. Yeah, that makes sense. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, yeah. So the prebiotic, it's basically fiber and it's feeding the bacteria that's in your gut. And if you take the food out, the bacteria is not going to grow very well. But if you put the food in, whatever bacteria are in your gut, they're going to feed on that, they're going to grow and multiply and effectively you'll get probiotics that, multiplying in your stomach that way or in your gut that way, as opposed to if you're topping it up with a capsule. SPEAKER 2 Yes. SPEAKER 1 Of probiotics. SPEAKER 2 I think a lot of, a lot of people take yogurt or kefir or kombucha. All of these are cultured probiotics. And they're basically trying to put bacteria back into their gut to give a healthy gut. But the reason why we need to continuously put probiotics back into our gut is because we're not feeding the bacteria that's already there with the fiber. And amazingly, the gut bacteria only feeds on fiber, even though we don't, the gut does. The gut bacteria feeds off of some of the, the fibers that come from us eating the fibers, and that's how they grow. So if we're not feeding the bacteria with fiber, the bacteria is dying. That's why we are needing to supplement with probiotics. But essentially, if we're eating enough fiber, we do not need to eat or feed ourselves extra probiotics because that will grow on its own. SPEAKER 1 That's a really important thing because I think probably people maybe without even changing their diet or adding more fiber in, just take the probiotic, whether they're supplements or foods, thinking, oh, I need this, I need this. But it's like putting, putting a pet in a cage without giving it food. Essentially, that's what it's doing. Like, how is it going to survive? You're going to have to keep putting more, more in there. So that's, I think that's a really important point. We got to put the food in there for them, for them to really thrive. SPEAKER 2 Yes. And, and I think that's why high fiber diet is the way to go. And as you start off as a high fiber diet, like what I said, it will be uncomfortable at first, it will not be as palatable or tasty as your processed diet. But as you continue to go, your body adjusts to it, your taste buds will adjust and you will reap the benefits, you will start having more regular, comfortable bowel movements. You will notice your weight dropping, you'll feel full longer and you'll notice if you have high cholesterol, your LDL cholesterol reducing because fiber attaches to the bad cholesterol and actually draws it out of your body. SPEAKER 1 Okay. SPEAKER 2 And you'll find that fiber maintains your blood sugar and again it feeds your healthy bacteria in your gut. So overall there's more benefits of a high fiber diet than not having it at all. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, that's very good to have that context because obviously it's an adjustment for many people to add this in, but at the same time, so many benefits we will experience for our well being if we have more of that, the high fiber foods. SPEAKER 2 And just. Yeah. And just one thing to add. If you are changing to a high fiber diet, make sure to drink lots of water because fiber, soluble fiber, the gel form, it draws your gut, will draw water into your gut. And so making sure that you're getting hydrated, drinking enough water, 8 to 12 cups a day to be able to make sure that your bulk of the stool is bulky. And then when you go poop, if you're sitting on the toilet for a long time and trying to strain and get that out, then you might need to increase your fiber. And for dietitians, your, your poop is the most important to us. It sounds, it sounds yucky. But as dietitians we always like to ask, you know, how many bowel movements do you have a day? How often do you go, is it hard, is it soft, does it float, does it sink? And just by your bowel movements we can tell what your diet is like through that. SPEAKER 1 Very much an indicator, isn't it? Yeah. SPEAKER 2 Yes. SPEAKER 1 So we've talked in general about good ways to eat foods that will be high in fiber. Are there any particular foods that are especially high in fiber that you could encourage us to go for? SPEAKER 2 Yeah, just looking up on the screen there, you'll see common sources of fiber that you can get. You can see here your prunes, even 5 prunes, you get 3 to 0.5 grams. SPEAKER 1 Wow. SPEAKER 2 Orange apple skin get 3 to 5 grams. So even just mixing up these plant based foods, you can get enough fiber and this is only small amounts only like the almonds, if you have a quarter cup, you've got four and a half grams of dietary fiber. And if you really want to go full on, then you can do buy the brand cereal which is 100% fiber and eat that. And that will give you 12.5 grams. So you only need to eat one cup of that and you might get your full quota of fiber, but that's a bit rough because that's usually more your insoluble fiber. So try and eat some fruit with that if you do that. SPEAKER 1 Yeah, yeah. Thank you for showing us that because that really gives a clearer picture of how you can just add a few of those together and already you're a long way towards that goal of having enough fiber in your diet. So that's really excellent and very easy to achieve. I can see that, you know, easy to add those things in, which is really, really good. Well, thank you so much, Selina, for sharing once again your expertise about the important subject of fibre and how we need to have more of it. We've been talking with dietitian Selina Reyno all about fibre and its importance for our health and well being. I hope this has enhanced your understanding of fibre and inspires you to fill up your plate with fibre rich plant foods. If you have questions or comments about this program, contact us on health at 3abnaustralia.org au and remember to shape your lifestyle as medicine. SPEAKER A You've been listening to Your Lifestyle as Medicine, a production of 3ABN Australia television.