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Is Your Fiber Intake Optimal?
Fiber Requirements
Fiber requirements vary by age and gender. In Europe, it is recommended to consume a minimum of 30g of fiber per day. In Canada, the daily fiber requirement is set at 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men. In the United States, it is recommended to consume 21 to 26g for women and 30 to 38g for men. For people with diabetes, a higher fiber intake of 30 to 50 g per day is recommended, including at least one-third of soluble fibers.
Fibre requirements by age and sex according to the Institute of Medicine
Women
| Age | Fiber requirements (g/day) |
| 4 to 8 years old | 25 |
| 9 to 13 years old | 26 |
| 14 to 50 years old | 25 |
| 50 years old and over | 21 |
Men
| Age | Fiber requirements (g/day) |
| 4 to 8 years old | 25 |
| 9 to 13 years old | 31 |
| 14 to 50 years old | 38 |
| 50 years old and over | 30 |
It’s Not just the Total Amount of Fiber that Counts!
Although it is essential to consume enough fiber, the variety of fiber is just as important in order to promote the diversity of the gut microbiota! Each plant contains prebiotics that will feed a different family of intestinal bacteria. A large study showed that eating at least 30 different plants per week was optimal for health.
Tips for Eating more Fiber
Most Canadians and Americans consume only half of the recommended amount of fiber. However, fiber is present everywhere and is easy to integrate if you choose the right foods to eat. Here are some tips to help you increase your fiber intake:
- Eat at least two fruits and three servings of vegetables per day
- Pair your meals with raw vegetables, salad or homemade vegetable soup
- Prepare and pre-cut vegetables and fruits in advance
- Consume fresh fruit instead of fruit juices
- Keep frozen vegetables and fruits in your freezer
- Bring fruit, nuts, seeds, roasted chickpeas and raw vegetables as a snack
- Add nuts, seeds, chickpeas, edamame, fruit and dried fruit to your salads
- Try chia pudding
- Incorporate legumes into your diet: whole, humus, in salads or in soups. Replace some of the meat with beans in your recipes (spaghetti sauce, Shepherd’s pie, meatloaf, curry, etc.)
- Add wheat/oat bran, psyllium, nuts, seeds (chia, ground flax, sunflower, pumpkin, hemp, etc.), dried fruit or fruit to your breakfast cereals, yogurts and muffin recipes
- Replace half of the white flour with whole grain flour in your cookie, muffin and cake recipes
- Prioritize whole grain products
- Try a variety of whole grains such as amaranth, oat, spelt, millet, buckwheat, quinoa, brown or wild rice and barley.
It should be noted that it is important to increase your fiber consumption gradually in order to allow time for your digestive system to adapt, and to hydrate well throughout the day to ensure the effectiveness of the fibers. SOSCuisine offers menus for a variety of health conditions that provide at least the recommended amounts of fiber.
References
- Gouvernement du Canada (2010) Politique proposée : Définition et valeur énergétique des fibres alimentaires. https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-canada/services/aliments-nutrition/participation-public-partenariats/politique-proposee-definition-valeur-energetique-fibres-alimentaires/consultation.html
- Anderson et coll. (2009) Health benefits of dietary fiber. Nutrition Reviews; 67(4):188–205.
- Slavin (2013) Fiber and Prebiotics: Mechanisms and Health Benefits. Nutrients; 5: 1417-35.
- Eswaran, Muir et Chey (2013). Fiber and functional gastrointestinal disorders. Am J Gastroenterol;108(5):718-727.
- Gouvernement du Canada (2019). Fibres. https://www.canada.ca/fr/sante-canada/services/nutriments/fibres.html
- S. Department of Agriculture, Food Surveys Research Group (2014). Fiber intake of the U.S. population, What We Eat in America, NHANES 2009-2010. https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400530/pdf/DBrief/12_fiber_intake_0910.pdf
- Diabète Québec (2018) Les fibres alimentaires. https://www.diabete.qc.ca/fr/vivre-avec-le-diabete/alimentation/aliments-et-nutriments/les-fibres-alimentaires/
- Institute of Medicine (2005). Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. https://www.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/files/fnic_uploads/energy_full_report.pdf
- McDonald et coll. (2018) American Gut: An open platform for citizen science microbiome research. American Society for microbiology; 3(3): e00031-18. https://msystems.asm.org/content/msys/3/3/e00031-18.full.pdf
Author
Kathryn holds a Bachelor Degree in Nutrition as well as a Bachelor and a Master Degree in Kinesiology, all from Laval University. She is a Registered Dietitian and active member of the Ordre professionnel des Diététistes Nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ) and of the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She holds the Monash University's certification for the FODMAP diet and IBS, and has considerable clinical experience in that area. She is also an accomplished athlete, having ran track and cross-country at a national level. Kathryn specializes in sports nutrition, weight loss, diabetes, as well as heart and gastrointestinal health.
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