Fibre has a reputation for being the nutrient that helps keep you regular.
That is true, but it is only part of the story.
Dietary fibre can help add bulk and softness to stools, support regular bowel movements and provide food for beneficial bacteria living in the gut. Some types are fermented by gut bacteria and produce compounds that help support the health of the large bowel.
Fibre-rich eating patterns are also associated with broader health benefits, including a lower risk of several chronic diseases. Australia's Nutrient Reference Values describe adequate dietary fibre as important for normal gut function and recognise its relationship with long-term health.
Yet Eat for Health notes that many Australians do not eat enough fibre.
The good news is that improving your fibre intake does not require an entirely new diet.
It may simply mean choosing wholegrain bread more often, adding beans to dinner, keeping fruit within reach or putting another vegetable on your plate.
Here is what fibre actually does and how to get more of it without making food complicated.
What is dietary fibre?
Dietary fibre is the part of plant foods that is not completely digested in the small intestine.
Instead, it continues into the large intestine, where different types of fibre behave in different ways.
You naturally find fibre in foods such as:
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vegetables
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fruit
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beans, lentils and other legumes
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wholegrains
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nuts
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seeds.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines encourage Australians to eat a variety of these foods every day, with an emphasis on vegetables and legumes, fruit, and mostly wholegrain or high-fibre grain foods.
Fibre is not one single substance, either.
Understanding the different types helps explain why variety matters just as much as the total amount you eat.
What are the different types of fibre?
Fibre is commonly grouped into soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch.
They each behave differently in the digestive system, which is why relying on only one source of fibre is not ideal.
Soluble fibre
Soluble fibre dissolves in water and forms a gel-like substance during digestion.
It is naturally found in foods including:
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oats
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barley
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lentils
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beans
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peas
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fruit
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vegetables.
Some soluble fibres can also be fermented by bacteria in the large intestine.
Beyond digestion, certain soluble fibres may help support healthy blood cholesterol and blood glucose levels as part of an overall balanced diet.
Insoluble fibre
Insoluble fibre does not dissolve in water.
Instead, it helps add bulk to stools and supports movement through the bowel, helping maintain regular bowel movements.
Sources include:
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wholegrain breads and cereals
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wheat bran
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nuts and seeds
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beans
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fruit and vegetable skins.
This is the type of fibre people often have in mind when they think about preventing constipation.
Resistant starch
Resistant starch is technically a type of starch, but some of it behaves similarly to fibre because it resists digestion in the small intestine.
It then travels to the large bowel, where bacteria can ferment it.
Foods containing resistant starch can include:
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legumes
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slightly green bananas
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whole or minimally processed grains
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cooked and cooled potatoes
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cooked and cooled rice
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cooked and cooled pasta.
During fermentation, gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, which play an important role in supporting the health of the bowel.
The takeaway?
You do not need to choose between soluble and insoluble fibre or start measuring resistant starch.
Eat a variety of plant foods and you are naturally more likely to get a mixture of all three.
Why is fibre important for gut health?
Your gut is more than a tube that moves food from one end to the other.
It is also home to a large community of microorganisms collectively known as the gut microbiome.
Healthdirect notes that fibre-rich foods such as vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes and wholegrains can help beneficial gut bacteria grow. These bacteria can then produce compounds that help support the health of the bowel.
This is where the term prebiotic comes in.
Prebiotics are certain types of fibre that provide a food source for beneficial microorganisms in the gut.
Importantly:
Not every fibre works in exactly the same way.
That is another reason to prioritise variety rather than searching for one perfect “gut-health food”.
A breakfast containing oats and fruit provides something different from lentils at lunch, nuts in the afternoon or vegetables and wholegrains at dinner.
Together, those foods create a much broader mix.
Fibre also helps support regular bowel movements
One of fibre's most familiar roles is still an important one.
Insoluble fibre can absorb water and add bulk to stools, which helps them move more easily through the digestive system.
A diet containing enough fibre, alongside adequate fluids and regular movement, can therefore play a role in preventing constipation for many people.
Healthdirect also identifies a balanced diet with plenty of fibre as one way to help keep the digestive system healthy.
But suddenly eating a very large amount of fibre is not necessarily the answer if you are constipated or experiencing digestive symptoms.
More on that shortly.
How much fibre do Australian adults need?
Australia's current Nutrient Reference Values set an Adequate Intake (AI) of:
Adult women
25 grams per day
Adult men
30 grams per day
These values apply across adult age groups. Requirements increase during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Australia also has a higher Suggested Dietary Target associated with reducing chronic disease risk:
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28 grams per day for women
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38 grams per day for men.
Those numbers can look abstract when you are standing in the kitchen.
Rather than trying to calculate every gram you eat, look at your overall eating pattern.
Are vegetables appearing at more than one meal?
Are you eating fruit?
Do you choose wholegrains regularly?
Do beans or lentils make an appearance during the week?
Do you eat nuts or seeds?
If most of those answers are no, there may be room to gradually introduce more fibre-rich foods.
Where can you get fibre from?
You do not need specialised health foods.
Some of the best sources are ordinary foods you can find at the supermarket.
Vegetables and legumes
Vegetables and legumes provide fibre alongside vitamins, minerals and other plant compounds.
Think:
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broccoli
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carrots
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leafy greens
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pumpkin
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capsicum
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peas
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chickpeas
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lentils
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kidney beans
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black beans.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines encourage eating a variety of different types and colours of vegetables as well as legumes and beans.
Fruit
Fruit provides fibre alongside water, vitamins and other nutrients.
Whole fruit generally provides considerably more fibre than juice because much of the plant structure is retained.
Easy options include:
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apples
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pears
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berries
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oranges
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bananas
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kiwifruit
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stone fruit.
Keeping the edible skin on suitable fruits can add extra fibre.
Wholegrains
Wholegrain foods retain more of the original grain than refined versions and generally provide more fibre.
Options include:
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rolled oats
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wholegrain bread
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wholemeal bread
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brown rice
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barley
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quinoa
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wholegrain cereals
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wholemeal pasta.
Eat for Health notes that most Australians consume less than half the recommended amount of wholegrain foods, and recommends that at least two-thirds of grain foods eaten be wholegrain.
Nuts and seeds
Nuts and seeds are another useful source of fibre and can be particularly easy to add rather than building a whole meal around them.
Try:
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almonds
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walnuts
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chia seeds
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flaxseeds
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pumpkin seeds
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sunflower seeds.
Add them to oats, yoghurt, salads or snacks.
7 simple ways to eat more fibre every day
The easiest way to increase fibre is usually adding to foods you already eat, rather than creating an entirely new menu.
1. Upgrade your breakfast
If breakfast is usually low in fibre, try adding one plant-based ingredient.
For example:
Instead of: plain yoghurt
Try: yoghurt + berries + oats + seeds
Instead of: refined cereal
Try: a wholegrain or higher-fibre cereal
Instead of: white toast
Try: wholegrain or wholemeal bread
One small swap at breakfast repeats itself every day, which can make it surprisingly useful.
2. Put vegetables into lunch, not just dinner
Dinner often carries the entire vegetable burden.
Lunch does not have to.
Add:
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salad to a sandwich
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spinach to eggs
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leftover vegetables to a wrap
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chickpeas to a salad
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vegetables to soup
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grated carrot or cucumber alongside lunch.
Eat for Health specifically suggests including vegetables or salad with two meals a day as a practical way to increase fibre intake.
3. Add legumes to meals you already make
Beans, chickpeas and lentils are inexpensive, versatile sources of fibre.
You can:
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add lentils to bolognese
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put beans in tacos
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stir chickpeas through salad
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add lentils to curry
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blend beans into soups
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replace part of the meat in a dish with legumes.
You do not necessarily need to become vegetarian to eat more legumes.
Even adding a portion to meals you already enjoy can increase plant variety and fibre.
4. Choose wholegrain more often
You do not have to replace every grain in your kitchen tomorrow.
Start with one.
White bread → wholegrain bread.
Refined breakfast cereal → wholegrain cereal.
White pasta → wholemeal pasta sometimes.
White rice → brown rice, barley or quinoa occasionally.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines specifically recommend choosing grain foods that are mostly wholegrain and/or high in cereal fibre.
5. Make fruit an easy snack
Sometimes the difference between eating fruit and forgetting about it is simply visibility.
Keep fruit:
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in a bowl on the bench
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washed and ready in the fridge
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at your desk
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in your work bag
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alongside something you already eat, such as yoghurt or nuts.
Australian adults are generally recommended to eat around two serves of fruit per day, although individual needs vary.
6. Add nuts and seeds rather than creating another meal
Sometimes improving nutrition is easier when you think:
“What can I add?”
rather than:
“What do I need to stop eating?”
Sprinkle seeds over breakfast.
Add nuts to a salad.
Keep a small portion of nuts for a snack.
Mix seeds into homemade meals or baking.
These small additions contribute fibre while also adding other nutrients.
7. Eat more variety across the week
You do not need to become fixated on a specific number of different plants.
Instead, use variety as a simple principle.
If you always buy:
banana
carrot
broccoli
white rice
try adding:
berries
capsicum
spinach
lentils
oats
chickpeas
seeds
the following week.
Your gut does not require an Instagram-worthy rainbow at every meal.
Just avoid eating exactly the same small group of plant foods every day.
Increase fibre gradually
This part matters.
If you currently eat relatively little fibre, going from very little to a very high-fibre diet overnight may lead to digestive discomfort.
That can include:
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bloating
-
gas
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abdominal discomfort
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changes in bowel habits.
Rather than suddenly loading every meal with bran, beans and fibre powder, increase fibre gradually and allow your digestive system time to adjust.
For example:
Week 1: switch your breakfast bread or cereal.
Week 2: add fruit to your usual snack.
Week 3: introduce legumes to one or two meals.
Week 4: experiment with another wholegrain.
There is no prize for reaching your fibre target overnight.
A change you can comfortably maintain is much more useful.
Fibre and fluids work together
As you increase fibre, remember hydration too.
Insoluble fibre absorbs water and helps create softer, bulkier stools.
That makes adequate fluid intake an important part of a higher-fibre eating pattern.
Water requirements vary according to factors such as your climate, activity levels, food intake and individual circumstances, so there is no single perfect number that applies to everyone.
Simple habits can help:
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keep water nearby
-
drink regularly throughout the day
-
have water with meals
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increase fluids appropriately when exercising or spending time in hot weather.
Do you need a fibre supplement?
Not necessarily.
For most people, a varied eating pattern containing vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds is a good place to start.
Whole foods also provide nutrients and plant compounds beyond fibre itself.
The Australian Dietary Guidelines' supporting material cautions against relying on concentrated fibre products to make up for an otherwise low-fibre diet, because doing so may provide fibre without the variety of fibres and other nutrients found across different plant foods.
However, fibre supplements can have a place for some people.
They may be useful when someone struggles to meet their fibre needs through food alone or when a healthcare professional recommends a particular product for an individual reason.
The type of fibre matters too.
Different fibres behave differently in the digestive system, so a fibre supplement should not automatically be treated as equivalent to eating a wide variety of plant foods.
If you are considering one because of ongoing constipation, diarrhoea, bloating or another digestive concern, speak with your doctor, pharmacist or Accredited Practising Dietitian about what is appropriate for you.
Where does Qenda Everyday Fibre fit?
Swan & Mantis stocks Qenda Everyday Fibre, an organic fibre blend designed to complement an everyday digestive-health routine.
If you choose to include a fibre product, think of it as one part of the bigger picture:
fibre-rich foods
-
variety
-
enough fluids
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movement
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appropriate healthcare when needed.
It does not replace vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains or a varied diet.
How do you read fibre claims on Australian food labels?
Food labels can make choosing higher-fibre packaged foods a little easier.
Under Australian and New Zealand food standards, a food generally needs to provide at least:
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2 g of dietary fibre per serve to make a fibre content claim
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4 g per serve to claim it is a good source of fibre
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7 g per serve to claim it is an excellent source of fibre.
When a packaged product makes a fibre claim, the amount of dietary fibre must also appear in its Nutrition Information Panel.
That gives you something concrete to compare when choosing between similar products such as breads or breakfast cereals.
But labels are only one tool.
An apple does not need to advertise that it contains fibre to be worth eating.
Is more fibre always better?
Not necessarily.
There is no general Upper Level of Intake established for dietary fibre in Australia's Nutrient Reference Values, but that does not mean everyone benefits from simply eating as much as possible.
Individual tolerance matters.
People with certain digestive conditions may need personalised advice about:
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the amount of fibre they eat
-
which types they tolerate
-
how quickly intake is increased
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whether particular high-fibre foods trigger symptoms.
For example, someone with ongoing bloating, abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhoea should not assume the answer is simply to keep adding more fibre.
Digestive symptoms can have many causes.
When should digestive symptoms be checked?
Some gas or temporary bloating can occur when dietary habits change.
But persistent digestive symptoms deserve more attention.
Healthdirect recommends seeing a doctor if gut symptoms are ongoing, worsening or not improving. Symptoms may include:
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persistent bloating or excessive gas
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recurring abdominal pain
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nausea
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ongoing constipation
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ongoing diarrhoea
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frequent heartburn
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significant changes in bowel habits.
Seek medical advice promptly for concerning symptoms such as blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss or severe abdominal pain.
If you have a diagnosed digestive condition such as irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease or another gastrointestinal disorder, talk with your healthcare professional or dietitian before making major changes to your fibre intake.
A simple fibre check-in
You do not need to start counting every gram tomorrow.
Instead, look at an average day and ask:
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Did I eat vegetables at more than one meal?
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Did I have some fruit?
-
Did I choose a wholegrain food?
-
Did I eat any beans or lentils?
-
Did I include nuts or seeds?
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Am I eating a variety of plant foods?
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Am I drinking enough fluids?
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Have I increased fibre gradually rather than all at once?
If several answers are no, choose one to work on.
Maybe tomorrow you add berries to breakfast.
Maybe you buy wholegrain bread.
Maybe you put chickpeas into dinner.
Maybe you grab an apple instead of skipping a snack.
Fibre does not need to become another nutrition project.
The takeaway
Fibre deserves more attention than simply being associated with staying regular.
Different types of dietary fibre help support bowel function, digestive health and the microorganisms living in your gut, while high-fibre eating patterns are also associated with broader long-term health benefits.
Australian adults should generally aim for at least 25 g per day for women and 30 g per day for men.
But you do not need to reach that target through one food, one supplement or one dramatically different meal.
Think:
more vegetables
more wholegrains
more legumes
more fruit
some nuts and seeds
enough water
and more variety over time.
Small additions, repeated regularly, can make a meaningful difference.
When it comes to fibre, supporting your gut is less about finding the perfect product and more about giving it a variety of plant foods to work with every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much fibre do Australian adults need each day?
Australia's Nutrient Reference Values set an Adequate Intake of 25 g of dietary fibre per day for adult women and 30 g per day for adult men. Needs are higher during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
What foods are highest in fibre?
Useful fibre-rich foods include legumes such as beans, chickpeas and lentils; wholegrains such as oats and wholegrain bread; vegetables; fruit; nuts; and seeds. Eating a variety of these foods provides different types of fibre.
What type of fibre is best for gut health?
There is no single best type. Soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch perform different roles, so eating a variety of fibre-rich plant foods is generally more useful than focusing on only one type.
Is fibre a prebiotic?
Some fibres are prebiotic, meaning they provide a food source for beneficial gut bacteria. Not every type of dietary fibre has the same prebiotic effects.
Can eating more fibre cause bloating?
Yes. A sudden increase in fibre may cause temporary gas, bloating or digestive discomfort in some people. Increasing your intake gradually and drinking enough fluids can make the change easier. Persistent or severe symptoms should be discussed with a healthcare professional.
Does fibre help with constipation?
Fibre can help support regular bowel movements. Insoluble fibre in particular absorbs water and adds bulk to stools, helping them move through the bowel. Fibre works best as part of an overall eating pattern that also includes adequate fluids and movement.
What is resistant starch?
Resistant starch is starch that resists digestion in the small intestine and reaches the large bowel, where bacteria can ferment it. Sources include legumes, slightly green bananas and some cooked-and-cooled starchy foods such as potatoes, rice and pasta.
Are fibre supplements necessary?
Not for everyone. Many people can obtain fibre through vegetables, fruit, legumes, wholegrains, nuts and seeds. Fibre supplements may be useful in some circumstances, but they should complement rather than replace a varied diet. Speak with a healthcare professional if you are considering a supplement for persistent digestive symptoms.