{"id":901383,"date":"2026-09-22T14:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901383\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T14:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T14:36:13","slug":"were-nutritionists-is-protein-or-fibre-more-important-for-your-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901383\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re nutritionists. Is protein or fibre more important for your diet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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With dietary trends for both protein <\/a>intake and “fibremaxxing<\/a>” everywhere at the moment, it can be difficult to understand which nutrient is more important.<\/p>\n

Should your focus be on hitting protein goals<\/a> each day, or should you prioritise fibre to support gut health<\/a> and overall wellbeing?<\/p>\n

To answer these questions, two dietitians share their expert advice, outlining the key differences between the two, explaining their individual health benefits, and illustrating how protein and fibre can effectively complement each other.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth are important,\u201d explains Dr Linia Patel, a women\u2019s health dietitian, performance nutritionist and author. \u201cIt comes back to this idea that nutrition is never about nutrients in isolation. We see from evidence when we look at whether it\u2019s longevity data or just weight management data \u2013 it\u2019s about dietary pattern and it\u2019s about the balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is protein?<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I think about protein, I\u2019m going to talk about the biochemistry first,\u201d Patel says. \u201cProtein is a bit like Lego. You basically have these Lego pieces which are amino acids that are put together to form a beautiful design. Within those amino acids, some are non-essential and some are essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis brings me back to the idea that protein is important because there\u2019s essential amino acids<\/a> that we can\u2019t make from our body and we must get from our diet \u2013 protein is one of these multitasking nutrients.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"HighHigh protein foods include salmon, beef fillet, chicken breast chickpeas and soybeans, among others. (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

She explains how it\u2019s involved in everything from protecting muscle mass \u2013 including during weight management<\/a> \u2013 to providing building blocks for immune cells and neurotransmitters, which carry messages between nerve cells.<\/p>\n

How much protein should be consumed in a day?<\/p>\n

Laura Tilt, registered dietitian and head of science at Field Doctor, explains that in the UK the recommended amount of protein intake is around 0.75g per kilogram of body weight per day.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people are eating over that amount \u2013 around 1.5 grams per kilo of body weight \u2013 but it will differ from person to person.\u201d<\/p>\n

With varying information and figures about protein consumption often found online, Patel says it is understandable that people may feel confused.<\/p>\n

\"ManyMany people are eating more protein than they need, say experts. (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are various conversations happening in the media that can get confusing and the amount is not black and white,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Patel also adds that it\u2019s not just about eating one big portion of protein, but amount spreading the intake throughout the day. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding that sweet spot \u2013 and that sweet spot exists even for protein intake.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about overdoing it \u2013 you want to find the balance so that you are still able to bring in other key nutrients,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

What is fibre?<\/p>\n

Patel explains: \u201cFibre is a type of carbohydrate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sits in the overall macronutrient of carbohydrate and it\u2019s found in plant-based foods. It\u2019s basically a nutrient that us as humans cannot fully digest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we eat fibre, we don\u2019t really just eat fibre for ourselves \u2013 we eat it for our gut microbiome<\/a> and in our gut microbiome is bacteria, viruses and fungi. Particularly the bacteria in our microbiome love fibres \u2013 it\u2019s like giving them their favourite thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She compares the body to a hotel containing numerous guests.<\/p>\n

\"ExpertsExperts say chia seeds are an excellent source of fibre and are great for gut health too. (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s this relationship between us and our guests. If we give them the food they really like, they will use to fibre to digest it, produce what we call short-chain fatty acids. These then do a whole host of things for our hotel such as keep it clean, reduce inflammation and help our mood.<\/p>\n

\u201cFibre is really powerful because it indirectly helps us be healthier in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tilt adds: \u201cIt helps to feed the gut bacteria in our large intestine. It plays a role in satiety so it helps us feel full after eating and it\u2019s a short term day to day thing to help prevent constipation because it helps bulk out and soften our stools.<\/p>\n

\u201cLonger term it can help to reduce our risk of type two diabetes, heart disease and bowel cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

How much fibre do we need?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recommendations for fibre intake is 30g a day,\u201d Patel says. \u201cAgain splitting that fibre up is recommended, otherwise it will impact your digestive health.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also explains that the figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey indicate that the average UK intake is well below 30g, with the overwhelming majority of adults failing to meet the recommendation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a massive gap we need to fill; however you also need to remember that with fibre, it\u2019s slow and steady. It\u2019s not about sprinting.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe recommended fibre intake is 30g a day, but many UK adults are consuming well below that. (Getty\/iStock)<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve not been eating a lot of fibre, you need to make sure that you\u2019re increasing it slowly so that your digestive system and gut bacteria can adjust.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMake sure you\u2019re hydrated too.\u201d<\/p>\n

What foods contain fibre?<\/p>\n

Patel lists out some foods that contain fibre.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is primarily in pulses and legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds and fruit and vegetables,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big dent is in your whole grains and your lentils and pulses. If you want to bridge the gap and get foods with both protein and fibres then the big thing is beans and legumes. They\u2019re inexpensive, they contain per 100 grams about eight or nine grams of protein and about seven to eight grams of fibre.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlending some white beans into a pasta sauce or adding some lentils into a curry or bolognese \u2013 those small changes actually help bridge the gap between protein and fibre.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[64,63,137,532],"class_list":["post-901383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nutrition","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-health","tag-nutrition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=901383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}