Types of fibre

Insoluble fibres are the fibrous structural material of plant cell walls and have a low water holding capacity. Fermentation of the fibres is slow or does occur at all. Included are cellulose (from vegetables such as celery, legumes, fruit and nuts), lignin (found in wholegrain wheat, wholegrain oats, rye meal, brown rice. flaxseed seeds, pumpkin seeds, caraway seeds, sunflower seeds and the seeds of berries) and some hemi-celluloses (in cereals, fruit, legumes, vegetables and nuts)

Soluble fibres are the plant cell contents and have a high water holding capacity. They are fermented by microbes found in the intestine. They include beta-glucans, gums, mucillages, some semi-celluloses and pectin. Rich sources include legumes, fruit (especially apricots, bananas, cherries, figs, grapefruit and plums), oats, oat bran, rye, barley and psyllium.

Resistant starch is part of starch that passes undigested into the large intestine and is digested by microbes found there. Found in legumes, bananas, cooled cooked potato, al dente psata, corflakes and products made with Hi Maize.

Fructans contain a link between molecules which resists digestion in the small intestine but are digested by microbes in the large intestine. Examples are inulin and oligofructose. They are found in some vegetables ( onions, garlic and chicory) and grains (wheat) or may be added by some processed foods such as yoghurt.

How much fibre should I eat in a day?
25-35g of fibre daily is recommended for adults. During an attack of diverticulitis it is recommended that this be dropped to 5g per day and gradually increased after resting the bowel.

The average Australian currently eats about 15g of fibre per day.

First Day

Gently, gently, that is how I have taken today. I am not silly enough to try and introduce change too fast or too strictly. For instance, I am not going to say I must drink 8 glasses of water a day, as this will just lead to me failing. Rather, I am just trying to increase the amount of water that I drink each day, which I managed today.

I also swapped a couple of cups of black tea for green tea. That one is easy. Because I have been ill for a couple of months now, I have added a multivitamin containing selenium and a calcium and vitamin D supplement, as well as an omega fish oil capsule. I hope to eventually just obtain the right amounts of all from my diet, but I think that will my body is under stress that I will "top up" with supplements to jump start recovery.

Due to my diverticultis being so severe at the moment, I am limited to a low fibre diet. It is a fine line finding the right amount of fibre my body needs, as too much can cause problems for me, just as much as too little fibre. I did drink a "superfoods" fruit drink that contained goji berries. I tried previously to eat goji berries but found them unpleasant. I suppose juiced may not as beneficial, but for the moment it is the best I can manage. Tiny steps.

Tomorrow is another day!