How much fibre should I eat?

Eating enough dietary fibre and a diverse range of different fibres is crucial in order to boost your gut health and avoid gut disorders and other health problems. But how much fibre do you really need?

As a rule, Australians don't eat enough fibre. On average, women consume about 21 g of fibre per day while men consume about 25 g per day.

There are two levels of recommended fibre intake: adequate and suggested amounts. The adequate amount is what you need for proper laxation and gastrointestinal function. The suggested amount is higher and is the amount you need to eat to reduce your chronic disease risk.

We recommend aiming for the higher amount as this suggested amount is linked to reduced gut related disease.

Want to learn more about gut health? Visit our comprehensive guide to a gut-friendly diet!

Where we get our fibre

A third of the fibre we eat comes from grains and another third from fruit and vegetables combined.

Junk food - or discretionary food - makes up about 17% of the fibre that we eat but this is considered a poor source since it is accompanied by processed foods that are best avoided.

A high-fibre diet is a high-quality diet

When we compare people’s diet quality – or how closely they follow the Australian Dietary Guidelines – there's a big difference in fibre intake. People who eat the lowest quality diet only consume around half as much fibre every day as people with the highest diet quality.

Part of the reason for this is that a good quality diet is diverse, with foods included from all the food groups. The more varied your dietary intake, the more chance you are eating plenty of fibre – and several types of fibre.

If you want to increase the amount of fibre you consume, consider branching out when it comes to vegetable types. Instead of having your standard potatoes and carrots with dinner, cook several different types of different coloured vegetables.