Key Takeaways

🌿 Fibre isn’t one-size-fits-all – Midlife gut changes and IBS mean you need a gentle, strategic approach.
💡 Soluble fibre is your friend – It’s the most soothing and best tolerated to start with when calming symptoms.
🔑 Fibre may be more important than protein – For midlife women, it supports hormones, gut health, and long-term wellbeing.

In my experience of working with hundreds of clients with IBS and digestive issues, fibre is the thing that causes the most confusion — and often, the most frustration too.

For starters, most of us aren’t getting enough. But even when we do try to eat more fibre, it can feel like a minefield. We’re not always sure what fibre is, how much we actually need, or what foods to focus on. And what I’ve seen — and experienced myself — is that we vastly overestimate how much fibre we’re eating.

Let me give you a quick example from my recent trip to London — and honestly, I think this will sound familiar no matter where you live.

A few days before I left, I decided to track everything I ate using a nutrition app. It breaks down your intake of things like calories, protein, saturated fat — and yes, fibre. Since I’m in perimenopause and know I need more protein, less saturated fat, and definitely more fibre, I thought I’d do a little audit.

And let me tell you — it was eye-opening.

At home, I was already falling short most days and had to work hard to add an extra piece of fruit or fibre-rich side just to get close to 25–30 grams. But once I was in London and relying on hotel breakfasts and meals out, things got trickier fast.

Breakfast looked decent — yoghurt, fruit, beans, tomatoes — but fibre-wise? Not great. Lunch was a gorgeous poke bowl — edamame, peas, baby spinach — but the entire bottom was just white rice. The fibre content? About 3 grams. By the end of lunch I’d only managed around 7 grams, still more than 20 grams short of my daily target. There was no way I was going to catch up.

Tracking my fibre intake made me way more aware. I skipped the dessert — not because of calories, but because I needed to find some fibre!

Eventually I decided to let go, enjoy the trip, and pick things up again once I was home. Because here’s the thing — our guts are pretty resilient. A few days of low fibre isn’t a disaster. But a lifetime of it? That’s another story.

Now, I know some of you might be thinking — “But Christel, there are loads of vegan and veggie options that are packed with fibre!” And you're right. But here’s the twist: I have IBS too.

So yes, I could eat all the raw veg, beans and pulses — but I’d be bloated and uncomfortable for the rest of the day. And if you’ve got IBS, you know that that can ruin a perfectly good trip.

So this is the conundrum I see all the time: you know you should eat more fibre, but with IBS — and especially in midlife when your gut is suddenly doing its own thing — it becomes a lot more complicated.

What Fibre Actually Is

Fibre is the part of plant foods your body can’t digest — and that’s a good thing. It travels to your large intestine, where it does two important jobs:

1. It adds bulk and helps with regularity
2. It feeds your gut microbes — and when they’re well-fed, they produce compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that support your gut lining, reduce inflammation, regulate blood sugar, and even influence your mood.

I often say: “Fibre is food for your gut bugs.”

And your gut bugs do a lot more than just digesting your food — they help keep your immune system in balance, influence your hormones, and even affect your mood and energy levels.

The Three Main Types of Fibre

Let’s talk briefly about the three main types of fibre — not to overcomplicate things, but just to give you a sense of how they work differently in your body.

Soluble Fibre

This one dissolves in water and forms a gel — it slows digestion and softens stool. It’s generally well tolerated in IBS and can be soothing.
You’ll find it in oats, chia seeds, flax, bananas, carrots, and peeled apples.

Insoluble Fibre

This is the more ‘bulky’ type — it helps move things through your system. It doesn’t dissolve, it’s more mechanical.
It’s found in wholegrains, veg skins, nuts and bran.
But if you have IBS or a sensitive gut, too much insoluble fibre too quickly can cause bloating or cramping.

Resistant Starch

This is a special type of fibre-like carb that resists digestion and reaches the colon intact — which means it’s amazing for feeding your gut bacteria. You’ll find it in cooked and cooled potatoes and rice, green bananas, lentils, and chickpeas.
But again — if you’re not used to it, it can cause bloating. So go slow.

And here’s the really interesting bit: it’s not just about how much fibre you get — it’s about the types and the variety.

Different fibres feed different gut bacteria, and each type helps your microbiome in a slightly different way. This is why variety — what some researchers call fibre diversity — is so important, especially when you’re not quite at the full 30g target.

Why Fibre is Especially Important in Midlife

As we move through perimenopause, our gut starts to change. You might’ve already noticed things slowing down — constipation becomes more common, bloating sticks around longer, and your digestion feels a bit more “temperamental.”

That’s not just in your head. Hormonal changes — particularly the drop in oestrogen and progesterone — can affect gut motility and microbiome balance. So fibre becomes even more important.

For a full guide on managing bloating during perimenopause, including what to eat and the mind-gut connection most women miss, read my companion post.

But, fibre helps:
✅ Support regular bowel movements
✅ Feed your gut bacteria
✅ Strengthen your gut lining
✅ Help regulate blood sugar
✅ Improve satiety and energy
✅ And may even have a positive effect on mood — thanks to those short-chain fatty acids your gut bugs produce

And while this series focuses on gut health, I do want to say this: fibre’s benefits go far beyond digestion.

It’s also linked to better cholesterol, blood sugar control, heart health, and long-term disease prevention.

So if you’re in midlife and trying to look after your heart, your hormones, and your overall health — fibre isn’t just a digestive bonus. It's essential.

Now — yes, the recommended intake is 25 to 30 grams a day. That is still our goal.
But… if your gut is currently struggling — if you’re coming out of a flare, if you’ve cut a lot of food out — then it’s okay if you’re not there yet.
That doesn’t mean you give up. It just means you start where you are.

When quantity isn’t possible, focus on diversity and quality

That means including different types of plant foods — cooked veg, seeds, pulses, fruits — in a way your gut can tolerate. Even small steps can add up.

And something I’ve really noticed lately (maybe you have too) is this huge focus on getting more protein in midlife. It’s everywhere. And yes, protein is important — it supports muscle mass, strength, and repair — all things we start to lose as hormones shift.

But here's my hot take — fibre might actually be more important than protein.

Fibre supports not just gut health, but heart health, blood sugar balance, hormone clearance, satiety, and even immunity. And unlike protein, which you can boost easily with a few tweaks or a scoop of powder, fibre takes planning and consistency — especially if you have a sensitive gut.

Most animal protein sources have zero fibre, and plant-based protein foods like beans and lentils — while amazing — can trigger symptoms if you’re not used to them. So women focus on protein and end up unintentionally under-eating fibre.

So yes, eat your protein — but don’t forget fibre. It’s the unsung hero of midlife health, and in many ways, the harder one to get right.

The 30 Plant Points trend and why more isn’t always better

You might’ve heard of this idea of aiming for 30 different plant foods per week — it comes from the American Gut Project, one of the biggest studies on the microbiome.

They found that people who ate a more diverse range of plant foods had a more diverse gut microbiome — and that’s generally a good thing. It’s something I often encourage, especially for people who have IBS and are rebuilding trust with food again.

We’re also seeing global guidelines encouraging more plant-based eating — things like the UK’s Eatwell Guide and the Planetary Health Diet. These messages are about eating more veg, legumes, wholegrains — all great stuff, in theory.

But here’s the catch — and I know many of you will relate:

If you go from eating 15g of fibre to suddenly eating 30+ grams a day — especially if that includes lentils, chickpeas, and cruciferous veg — your gut might not cope well.

Even healthy fibres — like resistant starch — can cause bloating and discomfort if introduced too quickly or in large amounts.

This doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. It just means your gut needs time to adjust.

That’s why I always say: go slow, build gradually, and don’t aim for perfection.
You can absolutely build towards those 30 plant points — but on your terms, and with a gut-friendly strategy.

Why Most People Aren’t Getting Enough Fibre

Let’s talk briefly about the numbers. The average fibre intake in the UK is around 18 grams per day — and that’s among the general population. Women with IBS? Often even less.

Why? Because so many people have cut things out — bread, lentils, fruits, grains — out of fear of symptoms.
Because fibre-rich foods are often demonised in flare-ups. And because we overestimate how much fibre we’re getting.

A salad for lunch and some veg at dinner might only give you 10–12 grams. That’s not bad — but it’s far from 30.

When I tracked my own intake, it was a wake-up call. Some days I hit 30g easily. Others — especially when out of routine or eating away from home — I barely scraped 20g.

It really showed me that fibre doesn’t just happen by accident. It takes planning, awareness, and consistency. But it is absolutely doable and I would love to help you.

If all of this feels a bit overwhelming, please know; you don’t have to do this overnight. You don’t need a perfect food diary or a perfect fibre score.

What you do need is the right information and a practical plan that works for your gut.

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About Christel

I'm Christel, a Gut Health Dietitian specialising in IBS and digestive issues in perimenopause. I can help you to calm your gut, ease bloating and feel confident eating again, without the overwhelm or endless restriction.