UPDATE: |Tim Spector says one small diet change could slash risk of heart disease by 14 per cent News

The nutrition expert says just one simple change to your diet could reduce your risk of dying early

A nutrition expert has urged people to eat more of one type of food, claiming that adding just a small amount to your diet a day could make a “really big difference to your health.”

Professor Tim Spector, an epidemiologist at King’s College London and founder of Zoe Health, says that 90 per cent of people don’t eat enough fibre.

According to Prof Spector, eating just five grams of extra fibre a day could slash your risk of heart disease and “premature” death by 14 per cent.

Fibre is the structural part of plant-based foods which is not digested or broken down but passes through the gut, adding bulk to our diet and impacting digestion and nutrient absorption.

According to the NHS, eating plenty of fibre is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.

The NHS recommended amount is 30 grams of fibre a day, however, it states that the majority of Brits are only eating around 20 grams. The NHS advises that most of us need to eat more fibre and have fewer added sugars in our diet.

In a clip from the Zoe podcast uploaded to his Instagram, Prof Spector detailed the importance of fibre in our diet and its “remarkable effect” on our health.

He said: “If you have five grams of extra fibre every day, that will reduce your risk of heart disease and early death by 14%.

“Fibres of these long strings of sugars that are really hard to break into their component parts. These reach the lower part of our colon where our microbes feed on them and they can break them down and release all the nutrients and all the goodness from those fibres, which help our immune system and make our gut microbes flourish.

“Just an extra five grams can make such a really big difference to your health. It’s probably one of the most important things we can all do so easily.”

A study published in 2022 supports Prof Spector’s claims. The research found a 14 per cent reduced risk of early death for every additional 10 grams of fibre eaten, with a 25 per cent reduction in death by all causes observed in those who ate the most fibre compared to those who ate the least.

According to Prof Spector, an extra five grams a day is roughly equivalent to one apple or half of a cup of lentils.

He wrote in a caption on Instagram: “One of the easiest ways to get more fibre is by rethinking the carbohydrates we eat.

“Carbs have become one of the most misunderstood parts of nutrition — praised, feared, and endlessly debated. But the issue isn’t carbs themselves. It’s the kinds we’ve been eating.”

Prof Spector says 80 per cent of the carbs eaten in Western diets are from “low-quality, refined sources”.

Instead the NHS advises eating wholemeal or granary breads, or higher fibre white bread, and choosing wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice.

Other ways to increase fibre intake, according to the NHS, include:

• Choose a higher-fibre breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits or plain shredded whole grain, or porridge oats
• Go for potatoes with their skins on, such as a baked potato or boiled new potatoes
• Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads
• Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries
• Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert
• For snacks, try fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes and unsalted nuts or seeds

High-fibre diets are not suitable for everyone, as people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or other digestive issues may find high-fibre foods worsen symptoms or trigger flare-ups.