A professor has revealed what food type you need to eat more to live longer.
Tim Spector, who claims he is one of the top 100 most cited scientists in the world, recently joined Dragon’s Den star Steven Barlett on his podcast, The Diary of a CEO. The pair talked about all things food as Tim used his expertise in gut health and nutrition to navigate the conversation.
Whilst on the podcast, the 65-year-old, from London, claimed there was “really good evidence” to suggest that if you eat a small percentage more of fibre it will decrease your risk of death.
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In a clip on his Instagram, Tim can be seen saying: “There’s really good evidence that if you can increase the fibre content of your diet, it has a dramatic effect on your likelihood of dying. The average in the UK is about 20 grams of fibre, so just five grams, just a quarter, you will reduce your risk of death by 14/15%. If you did two handfuls of nuts, it's 30%. Each one, it goes up and has a dramatic effect on your longevity.
“It’s also important for avoiding cancer and for your mental health. It’s nearly the forgotten element of our diets. I think at the moment we're in a fibre crisis. We’re certainly not in a protein crisis but yet everyone talking about protein.”
Fibre is a type of carbohydrate that can be found naturally in plant foods like whole grains, beans, nuts, fruit and vegetables. Sometimes it can be added to food and drinks.
The NHS states that most of us need to eat more fibre and have fewer added sugars in our diet. Eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.
Government guidelines recommend our dietary fibre intake should be around 30 grams a day, as part of a healthy balanced diet. As most adults only eat an average of around 20 grams a day, the NHS released tips on how to increase intake:
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Choose a higher-fibre breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits (Weetabix), plain shredded whole grain (Shredded wheat), or porridge as oats are also a good source of fibre.
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Go for wholemeal or granary bread, or higher fibre white bread, and choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.
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Go for potatoes with their skins on, such as baked potatoes or boiled new potatoes.
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Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads.
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Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries.
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Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert.
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