Why this health-promoting carb belongs in your diet

Associate Professor Andrew Reynolds, EDOR Co-Director, has been interviewed by Nikki Bezzant for The Listener on why fibre should be an essential nutrient.

The article "Roughing it" appeared in the 15 August issue of The Listener and explains why fibre, a complex carbohydrate, is important not only for our gut health but for our longevity.

Research led by Assoc Professor Reynolds over the last ten years has found many benefits in people with higher daily fibre intakes, leading to the World Health Organisation recommendation to have at least 25g of fibre per day. Currently New Zealanders consume around 20g of fibre per day.

Higher fibre intakes are associated with lower incidences of premature death as well as less coronary heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer when compared with those on lower fibre intakes. Eating more fibre has also been shown to reduce blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol.

In the article, Dr Reynolds outlines all the ways that fibre contributes to our health, and the reasons why a higher fibre intake has such beneficial effects.

He also explain why those on low carbohydrate diets may miss out on these benefits, because fibre is a form of carbohydrate:

"You can’t just talk about carbohydrate amount anymore because the carbohydrate quality is more important: some are beneficial, some are deleterious," says Reynolds.

Too many simple carbohydrates like sugars can lead to weight gain and dental caries. However, eating complex carbohydrates like fibre improves cardiovascular health and lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Increasing your consumption of fibre-rich whole foods such as whole grains, vegetables, legumes and fruit, and having less added sugar, leads to better health and longevity.