Fibre - An Important Part of Your Diet

By Jim Winship, British Sandwich Association Director

Starchy foods with a high fibre content, such as bread, form a really important element in a healthy diet as they are both a good source of energy and contain many of the nutrients our bodies require such as calcium, iron and Vitamin B.

Fibre is an essential part of our diet; in fact, we don’t eat enough of it. Wholegrain, granary and wholemeal breads provide the body with an excellent source of fibre. For the healthiest choice always choose bread that contains flour that has been subject to very little processing, such as granary.

There are two types of fibre, insoluble and soluble.

Insoluble fibre cannot be digested by the human body and so passes through and, at the same time, helps other waste foods move through the gut. This helps to keep the bowels healthy. Furthermore, because these fibres are not digested they make us feel full and help us to eat less.

The alternative - Soluble fibre – is quite different in that it is fully digested by the body and is believed to have beneficial effects in reducing the cholesterol in blood. This type of fibre is found in oats and pulses such as beans.

The flour used to make bread is also one of the most important sources of calcium in our diet and the Flour Advisory Bureau recommends that people should eat six slices of bread every day to gain 20% of the recommended daily calcium intake the body needs.

Contrary to popular opinion, starchy foods contain less than half the calories of fat. Yet low carbohydrate diets tend to encourage people to eat more fat and eliminate carbohydrates altogether thus eliminating essential nutrients and setting up a scenario that could lead to long term health issues.

The advice from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) is to choose a balanced diet that recognises the health needs of the body.

So next time you consume a sandwich for breakfast, lunch, tea or supper – remember the bread is not the enemy it is sometimes painted to be, but a strong health ally which is helping your body to thrive and function correctly.