The Food Chain
Apr 15, 2026
Food Chain presenter Ruth Alexander was confident that she was eating a healthy diet, in particular, a diet that included enough fibre. But it turns out, like many of us, her fibre intake has been falling short of the recommended amount.
In fact all over the world most of us are failing to eat enough, despite the growing trend for so called "fibremaxxing" where people try to maximise their daily intake. So how can we boost our fibre intake? And does it really have to involve chia seeds?
Ruth picks the brains of fibre expert Professor Joanne Slavin from the University of Minnesota and Fathima Abdoola, known as The Cultural Dietitian, based in Brisbane Australia. And psychologist Phillippa Lally from the University of Surrey in the UK, explains how we can make our well intentioned new habits stick.
Producer: Lexy O’Connor
Sound engineer: Andrew Mills
(Image: A close up of a steaming bowl of Persian barley soup, in a blue bowl, with a woman’s hands holding it. Credit: Getty Images)
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