Fibre and why it's key to good health

Recently I decided to take a break from listening to podcasts and all the conflicting advice out there. Whilst it's important to know and listen to the different side of a debate, at times it can send you into a spin and leave you feeling confused.

However, one of the last things that I did listen to was a podcast where the host and his side kick talk about their experience on a carnivore diet and how at first, they felt amazing but then 1 or 2 years in, things started to go wrong. There is even quite a well known influencer who called himself the carnivore doctor but actually quit the carnivore diet because it was making him unwell.

I've only got a couple of things to say about that really. Firstly, from an ethical point of view, I would never recommend the carnivore diet because for a start we already kill 85 billion land animals a year for our food consumption alone which is literally a staggeringly scary and horrendously sad state of affairs. However, I'm not here to judge or rant, I'll just let you sit with that figure for a while.

Secondly, there is no fibre in a carnivore diet and we all know that our gut microbiome, that all important set of over 100 trillion microbes thrive on fibre which is why it is SO important for good health. The gut microbes break down food for us, produce short chain fatty acids which are anti-inflammatory, support the integrity of the gut lining, provide us with energy & synthesise vitamins.

The gut contains 70% of our immune system and bacteria help to educate our immune system to defend against the constant barrage of pathogens that enter our bodies throughout the day. A dysregulated gut has been linked to brain disorders, heart health, diabetes, auto immune, thyroid and hormonal health. In fact, an unhappy gut microbiome is linked to pretty much every pathology in the body, so why wouldn't you want to feed it?

Recommended fibre intake is 30g per day, the majority of vegetables and fruit contain some, but not loads of fibre so you need to be eating a varied diet of legumes, wholegrains, fruit, fibre, nuts & seeds to reach your target. Are you getting enough?

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