On the 29th May, the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) celebrates World Digestive Health Day (WDHD) and we anted to take this opportunity to talk a little about ‘fibre’.
As most of us know by now, our gut health is extremely important to our overall well-being. Our digestive systems take responsibility for the most critical functions of the body’s digestive and immune systems, housing beneficial bacteria that can affect our body’s vitamin and mineral absorbency, hormone regulation, digestion, vitamin production, immune response, and ability to eliminate toxins, not to mention your overall mental health. (1)
The food we eat plays an important role in your gut health. Foods that are rich in fibre also contain a raft of vitamins, minerals and plant-based phytonutrients. Aiming to include whole foods in their most natural state will tick two significant boxes that enable you to meet your fibre requirements and benefit from a range of nutrients that promote good health. One only needs to look at the impressive nutrient profile of the chia seed to appreciate that whole foods can provide a number of key vitamins, vitamins, essential fats as well as fibre.
One of the greatest benefits of adding chia to your diet is that it provides high levels of fibre to help keep your digestive system functioning at its best. As our resident dietician Emma Morris says, “Chia contains the perfect ratio of soluble and insoluble fibre which is needed to keep our digestive system healthy.”
Our resident dietitian, Emma Morris, explains that “soluble fibre forms a gel in water, while insoluble fibre remains close to its original form throughout the digestive path. Both types of fibre are vital for healthy digestion – the soluble fibre helps to moderate blood glucose levels and lower cholesterol while the insoluble fibre provides roughage, clearing out toxins as it passes through the digestive tract lowering the risk of colon cancer”.
Here is a list of our favourite high fibre recipes you can try to show your digestive health some TLC:
Wild Rice Salad with a Chia Turmeric Cashew Paste
(1) http://www.navacenter.com/community/article-library/browse/2015/06/01/your-body’s-second-brain—the-importance-of-gut-health
Photo by Melissa Askew on Unsplash
