Eating Foods High In Fibre Could Be The Key To Weight Loss, Study Suggests
Could Fibre Be The Simple Key To Weight Loss?
Rachel Moss— The Huffington Post UK
|
Knowing where to begin when trying to kick-start weight loss can be an absolute minefield. But new research may have just made dieting far easier.
A new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests adding one kind of food to your diet may be all you need to look and feel healthier.
Researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School investigated the ways fibre can affect weight loss, as previous studies have suggested fibre-rich foods cause us to feel less hungry.
They found that adding more fibre to diet may be "the first step, and perhaps most important, to eating healthier".
Open Image Modal
The researchers split 240 volunteers into two groups, assigning half to the the American Heart Association (AHA) diet and half to a diet where they were instructed to eat more fibre.
All volunteers were considered at high risk of diabetes before the trial started.
The fibre group were asked to eat at least 30 grams of fiber per day, simply by eating more foods such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains than usual. They were not required to alter any other diet or exercise habits.
The AHA group were asked to reduce their daily calorie intake and were each given targets relating to how much saturated fat they should eat. They were also not required to change their exercise habits.
After a year, people in both groups lost around the same amount of weight, suggesting that a less restrictive fibre-rich diet may be just as effective as a more restrictive diet such as the AHA programme.
According to Time, study author Dr. Yunsheng Ma said: “By changing one thing, people in the fibre group were able to improve their diet and lose weight and improve their overall markers for metabolic syndrome.
“I think we have to change the paradigm about recommendations. Telling people to reduce this or reduce that is just too hard to do.”
Story continues below slideshow...
Foods High In Fibre
Healthy Gut: Fibre-Rich Foods (01 of11)
Open Image Modal
(credit:Alamy)
Dried Figs(02 of11)
Open Image Modal
A handful of dried figs not only boost your fibre intake, but will help soothe stubborn constipation. Eat them with your oatmeal cereal in the morning or snack on them mid-afternoon for the full fibre benefits.Fibre: 10g / 3 figs. (credit:Alamy)
Kidney Beans(03 of11)
Open Image Modal
Kidney beans are a great source of fibre, as well as rich in protein too. They're easy to incorporate into the diet by adding to hearty soups, blending to make a tasty paste or sprinkling on salads.Fibre: 7g/ 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Brown Rice(04 of11)
Open Image Modal
Always opt for brown over white rice as it contains the wholesome fibre needed to maintain a healthy gut and digestive system.Fibre: 3g / 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Avocado(05 of11)
Open Image Modal
The avocado is full of great health benefits and one of them is a rich source of fibre. Eat a medium-sized avocado and you've clocked up 10g of fibre in one sitting.Fibre: 5.2g/ half a medium-sized avocado. (credit:Alamy)
Baked Beans(06 of11)
Open Image Modal
The baked bean is another great source of fibre, with its content higher than most foods in this list. One cup of these contain up to 8g but a whole tin can be as much as 11g - nearly half your recommended daily allowance.Fibre: 8g/ 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Corn(07 of11)
Open Image Modal
The corn is a tasty and resourceful way of getting your RDA of fibre, with a half of cup of its corn ears equaling to an impressive 2g of fibre, so the whole corn will clock up around 10g in total.Fibre: 10g/ 1 corn on a cob. (credit:Alamy)
Broccoli(08 of11)
Open Image Modal
The broccoli is a multi-tasking vegetable which is not only packed full of vitamin D and C, but fibre and antioxidants too. Add these to your dinner and you'll have sufficient amounts of fibre to help keep your digestive system healthy.Fibre: 4g/ 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Lentils(09 of11)
Open Image Modal
The humble lentil is a great food to add to your daily diet, as one cup contains a whopping 15.6g of fibre. these can easily be added to your diet in soups, salads and as part of your vegetable intake. They're also a great source of iron and B vitamins too.Fibre: 15.6g/ 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Wholewheat Pasta(10 of11)
Open Image Modal
Like with rice, it's always best to opt for brown over rice pasta as it contains the most fibre and has more essentials vitamins than its processed version. It is also thicker in texture, so will keep you fuller for longer, staving off hunger pangs.Fibre: 5g/ 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Spinach(11 of11)
Open Image Modal
This iron-packed green leafy veg is also a brilliant source of fibre. Boil it or chop it from fresh - it's really easy to incorporate into your diet. Use in salads, as it contains more nutrients that lettuce.Fibre: 6g / 1 cup. (credit:Alamy)
Ma added that asking people to focus on eating a certain food, rather than asking them to eat less food overall, may help people to feel more positive about weight loss and healthy eating.
This isn't the first study to suggest fibre could be seriously beneficial to our health.
Participants with the highest daily fibre intake were found to be 16% less likely to die from all causes than those with the lowest fibre intake.
They suggested this may be due to fibre's potential to lower the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes and certain cancers.