Recommended intake

Recommended intake

The recommendations on the consumption of fiber to maintain good cardiovascular health are the following: in adults (over 18 years) an intake of about 25-35 g / day is recommended, with a ratio between insoluble and soluble fiber of 3: one. These recommendations correspond to caloric intake: 14 g of fiber for every 1,000 kcal ingested. And we must obtain it from varied foods. In children over 2 years of age, a fiber intake is recommended according to the rule "age + 5" grams / day; Thus, for example, a 3-year-old child should eat about 8 g of fiber per day. This corresponds to a daily intake of 0.5 g of fiber / kg of the child's weight. The clear need for fiber in children under 2 years of age has not been established.

The tips to get these figures are:

• Consume two to three servings of vegetables or salad a day.
• Eat nuts with some regularity, for example a "handful" (25 grams without shell) between two and three times a week. If possible, take them with the edible peel.
• Incorporate cereals and derivatives into the diet, preferably whole grains (whole seed) or enriched with fiber (bread, cookies, rice, pasta, breakfast cereals, etc.), at least two or three times a day.
• Consume two to three pieces of fruit a day, better whole than in juice. Let's not forget that the pulp, richer in fiber, stays in the juicer. On the market there are fruit juices rich in fiber, which can be consumed.
• Consume legumes (beans, chickpeas, lentils, etc.) at least twice a week.

Remember that ensuring water intake is very important when the diet is rich in fiber. You have to ensure the intake of at least 2 liters of water a day.

In addition, it must be taken into account that the increase in fiber in the diet must be gradual to avoid the symptoms of flatulence and intestinal discomfort that fiber can produce.

Situation in Spain

Our traditional diet has been based on the so-called Mediterranean pattern, which includes the daily and habitual consumption of fruits and vegetables, cereals and derivatives, legumes and nuts. This diet is rich in fiber, so the daily fiber consumption in Spain until a few decades ago remained close to or reached the recommendations (between 20 and 35 g per person per day).

And if we compare the diet of northern European countries with the average intake of Mediterranean countries (including Spain), the difference in fiber consumption was greater in Mediterranean countries. However, the westernization of our eating habits has changed this pattern and we increasingly resemble the Anglo-Saxon and northern European countries.

Surveys made in our country between 1964-1991 show the spectacular decrease in fiber intake in Spain. This has gone from 28 g / person / day in 1964 to 22 g / person / day in 1981. In 1991 the fiber intake stood at 21 g / person / day. The figures have so far remained at these values, perhaps in part because the market for fiber diet products has grown in recent years. For this reason, at least in part, the deficiency in the intake of fiber contained in food could be supplied with the fiber contained in commercial preparations.