Not just roughage – the best fibre supplements to help meet your 30g per day
If you’re among the 96 per cent of UK adults that don’t enough fibre, a new breed of gut-friendly supplements can help
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Move over protein, fibre is finally having a moment as awareness is growing that it’s so much more than roughage that keeps you regular. It’s essential for healthy gut microbiome, everyday detox, and weight management. It can also play a role in preventing heart disease, depression, bloating, skin issues, hormonal fluctuations, obesity and cancers, to name but a few.
Yet more than 90 per cent of UK adults are not getting enough fibre, (30g per day is NHS recommended). Most of us hit 16g or less, especially if we have a diet that’s too processed, too beige or too focused on protein.
Of course food is always the first port of call if you want to up your fibre intake, but there are many good reasons why that could be tricky. Firstly, you may simply find it hard to eat enough fibre-rich foods a day. If you’re on GLP-1 agonist weight loss jabs such as Mounjaro, you’ll be eating less of everything (see our expert nutrition tips for how to stay healthy on weight loss jabs), although it’s worth noting that fibre actually helps the body produce its own GLP-1, helping you feel full.
Secondly, if you practice intermittent fasting (like Zoe’s two-week intermittent fasting trial) and skip breakfast, you may be missing out on an important ‘fibre moment’ in the day (avocado is surprisingly high in fibre) and so may need extra help.
If you have a sensitive gut that easily bloats and produces gas when you eat certain fibre-rich foods (chickpeas are often a culprit) or if you’re on on a low-fodmap diet (i.e. less fermentable to cater for sensitive stomachs), certain fibre-rich foods are out of bounds, making it harder to get your daily 30g .
This is where the new generation of fibre supplements comes in. It used to be that fibre meant taking psyllium husks and not much else, but newer blends contain a range of plant fibres such as inulin that not only keep your bowel movements in Olympic condition but will also feed your gut microbes in order to keep them beautifully diversified. Some also have ingredients such as chamomile that reduce bloating and soothe a sensitive gut. Many are gluten-free and low-fodmap friendly.
Fibre supplements can contain up to 9g of fibre in a daily dose, making it a lot easier to hit your daily 30g goal and start feeling lighter, more energised and support long term health. If you’re new to fibre, says functional hormone nutritionist Pippa Campbell, start “low and slow” as your gut acclimatises.
Need convincing to get your 30g per day? Here are a few stats and facts that might convince you
- Fibre supports blood sugar balance and appetite regulation, so can help you lose weight and lower the risk of metabolic disease.
- High- fibre diets are linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, colorectal cancer, stroke and dementia. “Around eight to 10 grams of fibre a day equates to a ten per cent reduction in cardiovascular disease, a ten per cent reduction in things like dementia,” says GP Dr Rupy Aujla, founder of The Doctor’s Kitchen and author of Healthy High Protein. The more fibre you consume, the lower your risk.
- A high-fibre plant-based diet reduced menopausal symptoms (relating to mood, fatigue, sleep and weight) by up to 37 per cent in a study of over 70,000 women.
- Fibre increases your immunity and dampens inflammation.
- Getting enough fibre intake acts as a natural hormone detox: it removes excess oestrogen from your system through your stool. “Some interesting data has come out that says that the higher the fibre intake of girls is in their teens and early 20s, the lower the risk of breast cancer in their life,’ says Rhian Stephenson, naturopath, nutritionist and founder of Artah.
7 Fibre supplements to try
Best blood sugar balancing fibre boost
Artah Essential Fibre+, £45 for 25 servings
Taken first thing in the morning with a large glass of water on an empty stomach, this mildly lemony fodmap-friendly gluten-free blend sets you up for a more blood sugar balanced and regular day with no bloating or irritation. It contains 11 carefully balanced, prebiotic plant fibres and bloat-calming botanicals (think pectin, psyllium husks, beta-glucan and chamomile) designed to minimise bloating while upping your daily fibre intake by 7g a day. It looks a bit muddy, but tastes fine.
SHOPBest fibre-packed snack
Indi Gut Bars, £20 for 12, £18 on subscription
These chewy, nutty raw food snacks each deliver 7.8g of fibre contained in 20 superfoods (including dates, almond butter, Brazil nuts, puffed quinoa and flax seeds), and even 94% of your daily minimum vitamin D requirement. “These are the only way I can get my children to eat fibre,” says GTG’s Victoria Woodhall, who buys them on subscription. There’s no added sugar but the bars taste satisfyingly sweet and are gluten-free. There’s a powder version of the bars called Indi Body, £55 for 28 sachets which have 5.7g fibre. The main ingredient being the prebiotic fibre chicory root inulin, as well as polyphenol-rich plants such as haskap berries, baobab and hibiscus.
SHOPBest for soups and smoothies
Myota Gut Health £50 for 30 servings
This flavourless powder has five prebiotic fibres and is designed to minimise discomfort for sensitive stomachs, as well as adding extra fibre. It can be added to any food or drink undetected. Try it in soups and smoothies. Start with 5g and work your way to 10g daily (delivering 9.8g of fibre). This is low-fodmap-certified, NHS-favoured and gluten-free (it contains gluten-free wheat and oat fibre).
SHOPBest capsules
Chitocare Liposan Fibres & Vitamin C, £59 for a 40-day supply
Four capsules daily (two at mealtimes) deliver 1.5g chitosan, a marine ingredient derived from shrimp shells and sea crustaceans that’s not only anti-inflammatory and healing, but super-rich in prebiotic, non-digestible fibre to balance the gut microbiome, improve digestion, balance cholesterol and blood sugar levels. For that reason, it’s popular as a weight management supplement with holistic benefits (and new treatments like the Chitocare Icelandic facial harness it’s nourishing properties as skincare, too). You’ll notice less ‘loose’ stools almost immediately.
SHOPBest-tasting constipation solution
We.Are.Regular 0.1 Bowel & Bloat Relief, £45 for 28 servings
This constipation-busting, TikTok-friendly powder, founded by two constipation sufferers, truly leans into the word ‘poo’. It comes in one-a-day powder sticks, which you mix with water or juice. It’s sweeter than the others (with stevia) and berry-flavoured — good if you can’t bear things that taste too virtuous. The fibre comes from gluten-free barley grass powder and is teamed with vitamins, fruit extracts and natural flavourings. It’s not clear how much fibre each 8.4g stick delivers, but 79 per cent of users saw a better poo in 24 hours and bloating improved in a matter of weeks.
SHOPBest for easing diarrhoea
Regular Girl Prebiotic Fibre and Probiotic Blend, £66.99 for 30 servings
These individual packets of flavour-free, organic powder each contain 5g of prebiotic, soluble ‘Sunfiber’ (from the guar bean plant) and 8 billion CFU probiotics, which is a decent amount that’s not so high it could irritate. They go beyond keeping you regular, aiming to ease occasional constipation and diarrhoea without making you gassy or bloated and to control glucose spikes. They are low-fodmap-certified too.
SHOPBest whole food powder
Newroad 30 The Gut Supplement, £45 for a 30-day supply
Surely the prettiest-looking supplement ever, these individual sachets contain 30 freeze-dried organic fruits, vegetables and pulses, selected for their high fibre, prebiotic, and polyphenol (with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits) content. The blend can differ slightly depending on the harvest. It has an earthy berry flavour that works in water, juice, or sprinkled over yoghurt or porridge. The pulse content means the powder is not low fodmap, but it does provide plant proteins alongside fibre (1.2g per sachet) and essential nutrients to diversify and balance your bacterial gut ecosystem of bacteria that play a vital role in optimum health.
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