How much fibre do I need, and how do I get it from food I already eat?
Most adults do well at about 25 to 30 g of fibre (fiber) a day. The WHO says at least 25 g, UK guidance says 30 g, and US guidance says 14 g for every 1,000 kcal you eat, which comes to about 28 g on a 2,000 kcal day. Most people eat well under that, and the easy way up is to add pulses, whole grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds to the dishes you already eat, a portion at a time.
How much fibre do I need?
The three main guides land close together:
- WHO: at least 25 g a day of fibre from food, with at least 400 g of fruit and vegetables.
- UK: 30 g a day. The average adult eats about 20 g.
- US: 14 g per 1,000 kcal. More than 90% of US women and 97% of men fall short.
The US figure, by age and sex:
| Age | Women | Men |
|---|---|---|
| 19 to 30 | 28 g | 34 g |
| 31 to 50 | 25 g | 31 g |
| 51 and over | 22 g | 28 g |
At 2,000 kcal a day, the UK and US figures come to 28 to 30 g, a little above the WHO’s minimum of 25 g.
In Nume: Progress shows your fibre each day against a guide of about 30 g per 2,000 kcal, sized to your own plan, so an 1,800 kcal plan reads against about 27 g. The chart shows it by day and by week, beside your energy, protein and added sugar.
What does fibre do for you?
A 2019 series of reviews in The Lancet pooled 185 long-term studies and 58 trials. People who ate the most fibre had 15 to 30% lower death rates from all causes and from heart disease, and less heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer, than people who ate the least. The benefits were largest at 25 to 29 g a day, and the curves suggested more gives more. In the trials, higher fibre intakes brought lower body weight, blood pressure and cholesterol.
Does fibre help with fat loss?
Fibre goes with sticking to the plan. In a study of 345 adults on diets 750 kcal a day under their needs for six months, the people who raised their fibre the most lost the most weight, whatever the mix of protein, carbs and fat. Higher fibre also went with sticking to the diet. On average they lost about 7.3 kg.
Fibre also carries less energy than other carbohydrate: about 2 kcal per gram, against 4. So a plate of beans, vegetables and whole grains holds less energy than its carbs suggest.
In Nume: every meal you log with a photo or a line is estimated part by part, with its fibre, and fibre counts at 2 kcal per gram in every energy number. Each meal’s record shows its fibre under the protein, carbs and fat. If the scale has stalled, see why you may not be losing weight.
Which foods have the most?
Standard portions from the US food-sources table:
| Food | Portion | Fibre |
|---|---|---|
| Split peas, cooked | ½ cup | 8.1 g |
| Chickpeas, canned | ½ cup | 8.1 g |
| Lentils, cooked | ½ cup | 7.8 g |
| Mung beans, cooked | ½ cup | 7.7 g |
| Black beans, cooked | ½ cup | 7.5 g |
| Kidney beans, cooked | ½ cup | 5.7 g |
| Pear | 1 medium | 5.5 g |
| Pumpkin seeds | 1 oz (28 g) | 5.2 g |
| Avocado | ½ cup | 5.0 g |
| Apple, with skin | 1 medium | 4.4 g |
| Chia seeds | 1 tbsp | 4.1 g |
| Bulgur, cooked | ½ cup | 4.1 g |
| Raspberries | ½ cup | 4.0 g |
| Edamame, cooked | ½ cup | 3.8 g |
| Sweet potato, baked in skin | 1 medium | 3.8 g |
| Potato, baked with skin | 1 medium | 3.6 g |
| Popcorn, air-popped | 3 cups | 3.5 g |
| Almonds | 1 oz (28 g) | 3.5 g |
| Green peas, cooked | ½ cup | 3.5 to 4.4 g |
| Wholewheat spaghetti, cooked | ½ cup | 3.2 g |
| Banana or orange | 1 medium | 3.1 g |
| Guava | 1 fruit | 3.0 g |
| Pearl barley, cooked | ½ cup | 3.0 g |
| Wholewheat paratha | 1 oz (28 g) | 2.7 g |
| Quinoa, cooked | ½ cup | 2.6 g |
Add it to what you already eat
You don’t need new recipes. Add fibre to what you already cook and order:
- beans in the tacos or the chilli
- lentils in the soup, or an extra bowl of dal
- chickpeas in the salad, hummus with the wrap
- peas or edamame in the fried rice or the noodles
- fruit with yogurt, seeds on porridge
- wholewheat pasta or bread in place of white
- potatoes with their skins on
- popcorn or a handful of nuts as a snack
A 30 g day over four eating times, from the table above:
- Morning: a pear and 1 oz of almonds, 9.0 g
- Midday: ½ cup of black beans with ½ cup of bulgur, 11.6 g
- Afternoon: a banana, 3.1 g
- Evening: 1 cup of wholewheat spaghetti, 6.4 g
That comes to about 30 g. Pulses carry protein too, so the same swaps help your protein.
In Nume: the first option for each meal is your usual plate for that eating time. Tap any part to swap it, or say what you’d like instead. Tell Nume “more beans” or “more vegetables” and it keeps that, and the meals it suggests take it into account.
How fast should I add it?
Over a week or two, a portion at a time, with drinks through the day. The water intake calculator gives a figure for your day. If your stomach feels fuller or gassy as you add fibre, it usually settles as you get used to it, and losing belly fat explains how bloating differs from fat.
Fibre around training
Sports nutrition guidance from the American College of Sports Medicine and its partners says the meal or snack before exercise should be relatively low in fat and fibre, so the stomach empties and the gut stays settled. Keep the high-fibre plates for the meals away from a session, and see food for your sport and a half or full marathon for game days and races.
In Nume: the meal before a session is planned lighter, and dishes suggested shortly before one lean light and easy to digest.
Fibre with Nume
Nume shows your fibre on each meal, each day and each week. Each meal’s record shows its fibre under the protein, carbs and fat. Nutrition today shows the day’s fibre. Progress shows it by day and by week against a guide sized to your own plan, alongside your energy, protein and added sugar. Your plates come from your own cuisines at your own eating times, so the fibre comes from food you already like, and a tap swaps in the beans, the wholewheat or the extra vegetables. Fibre is a guide to aim near, the way exact or approximate describes. See how Nume works across a day.
Common questions
Does fibre count as carbs and calories?
Fibre is a carbohydrate, and it does carry energy: about 2 kcal per gram, half the 4 of starch and sugar.
Is fruit juice as good as whole fruit?
No. US guidance notes that 100% fruit juice is lower in fibre than whole fruit.
Can I take a fibre supplement instead?
The Lancet reviews looked at fibre from food and left out trials of supplements, so they say nothing about fibre pills. Food also brings the whole grains, pulses, fruit and vegetables the fibre came in.
Is white rice every day a problem for fibre?
Not if the rest of the plate brings it. Dal, beans or vegetables with the rice, or a fruit after the meal, can cover the gap.
Checked on · The Nume team
Sources
- WHO: WHO updates guidelines on fats and carbohydrates (2023)
- NHS: How to get more fibre into your diet
- US Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 (Chapter 4 and Appendix 1)
- US Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020, Appendix 13: Food sources of dietary fiber (portion values in the table)
- Reynolds et al., Carbohydrate quality and human health: a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses, The Lancet (2019)
- Miketinas et al., Fiber intake predicts weight loss and dietary adherence in adults consuming calorie-restricted diets: the POUNDS Lost study, Journal of Nutrition (2019)
- FAO: Food energy, methods of analysis and conversion factors, Food and Nutrition Paper 77 (2003), chapter 3
- American College of Sports Medicine, American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada, joint position stand: Nutrition and athletic performance (2009)