The Inane Ramblings of Michelle

Hey folks, time to get to the nitty gritty of a good high fibre diet.

We all need a high fibre diet – they say we should eat about 25g of fibre daily.  This is so that our food passes through our bodies in a timely manner and that we don’t get traffic jams and backlogs.  No pun intended.  Foodstuff that remains inside our bodies for too long becomes putrid and poisons our bodies, leaving us feeling more sluggish, less energetic, and let’s face it, rather shitty.

But I think the amount of fibre we need to eat  depends a lot on what other junk we feed ourselves.  For instance, if we habitually eat 2 burgers, 4 eggs, and 6 sausages every day, it may seem that we need to eat more fibre, than if we are vegetarian and eat very small meals.  On the other hand, if we are eating a ludicrous amount of food, especially nil-fibre food such as meat every day, then not only do we need to eat more fibre but we need to eat less, period.

Now, some foods contain NO fibre.  These foods include meat, fish, eggs, and milk and milk products.  That’s cow milk, not soya milk.  Soya milk contains a small amount of fibre.

So if we desire to eat a high fibre diet, it would follow that we need to eat less of foods that contain no fibre.  A lot less.  Most of us eat too much anyway, so let’s stop being pigs and start eating a reasonable amount of food.  That’s for starters.  Next, we need to eat more foods that are higher in fibre.

High fibre foods include pulses (beans, lentils), vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and seeds. 

There are more than a dozen kinds of beans widely available; some tinned, some dried and in packets.  They are very inexpensive, especially if you buy in bulk.  Bean types include lima, pinto, kidney, black, haricot, butter, and garbonzo (aka chick peas).  Split peas are also in the legumes category.  Lentils include red, brown, and green types.

Vegetables, we all know what they are, so I won’t bore you with details here.

Fruits, same thing.  Some fruits and vegetables contain more fibre than others.  Same with beans.

Higher fibre fruits include pears.  Higher fibre beans include red kidney beans.  If you want to know more in detail, let me know and I’ll post the info later.

Nuts: Again, a lot of variety of tasty nuts are widely available: peanuts, walnuts, brazil, pecan, almonds, pistachio, etc.  And if anyone writes and comments that peanuts are not actually nuts, I will track you down and beat you with a dead monkey.

Seeds:  Not just for the birds!  Seeds are very good for you, they contain oils and omegas and all kinds of stuff:  if you want to know more, do your own research or let me know and I’ll post more here.  Edible seeds include:  linseeds, sunflower,  pumpkin, and poppy.

Grains:  You’d be surprised to find out just how many types of cereals and grains there are that you can eat and are high in fibre.  So what’s the difference between a cereal and a grain?  I don’t know, but if you know, please comment below.  Thanks.

Whole grains are obviously better than refined.  They include:  wheat, barley, cornmeal, rye, buckwheat, oats, and rice.

Again, for a high fibre diet, not only is it important to increase the amount of high fibre foods in your diet but to decrease the amount of food that is not fibre-rich.

No or low fibre foods include junk foods such as pop, chips, and processed foods, meat, poultry, eggs, fish, cow milk, butter, cheese, and white bread, pasta and rice.

So now you know the basics.  I will add more info about ways to eat more healthy food painlessly and without inconvenience.

You know it all begins in the supermarket.  So, happy grocery shopping, happy high fibre eating, and most importantly of all, happy pooping!