For something that just passes through your digestive tract without actually being absorbed, dietary fibre contributes a lot to your health – including heart health. Fibre has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) levels, blood pressure, and blood sugar in diabetics. It can also help reduce your risk of diabetes and obesity, which are risk factors for heart disease.
Dietary fibre comes from vegetables, fruit, and grains and is often described as soluble or insoluble. While both forms of fibre support heart health, they act in different ways and come from different sources.
Soluble fibre
Soluble fibre becomes a viscous, gel-like substance when it is mixed with water during digestion. It slows the movement of food through your digestive tract, which keeps you feeling full longer, helps maintain steady blood sugar levels, and improves insulin sensitivity in diabetics. Soluble fibre is also believed to help lower LDL (also known as bad cholesterol) levels by preventing it from being absorbed during digestion. Great sources include beans, oat bran, apples, seeds, psyllium and PGX.
Insoluble fibre
Insoluble fibre does not change form when digested or mixed with water. It essentially passes through your digestive tract unchanged. This adds bulk to help push food through your intestines faster and can lower your calorie intake by making you feel full from smaller portions of food. Great sources include vegetables, fruit peels, seeds, nuts, lentils and whole grains such as brown rice.
How much fibre do you need?
Plan to eat 25 to 38 grams of fibre per day. Look for products with at least 2 grams of fibre listed on the Nutrition Facts panel and eat a variety of plant-based foods so that you get a good mix of both soluble and insoluble fibre. Both are needed for keeping your heart healthy.
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