According to the NHS, UK adults are recommended to consume 30g of fibre every day. Yet recent National Diet and Nutrition Survey data suggests that just 4% of adults actually manage it, with average intake sitting at around 16g.
Which leaves us with a surprisingly large question.
Where did the rest of our fibre go?
Fibre is hardly a new discovery. It is naturally present in many of the foods humans have eaten for generations, and its relationship with digestive health has been understood for decades. Yet in an era when we have become increasingly interested in protein targets, supplements, and nutritional optimisation, one of the most established components of a balanced diet is still remarkably easy to overlook.
Perhaps the fibre gap tells us something much bigger about the way we eat.
When did 30g become the target?
The UK recommendation has not always been 30g. In 2015, following a review of the relationship between carbohydrates and health, the government increased the adult recommendation from 24g to 30g per day, reflecting a growing body of evidence connecting higher-fibre diets with better health outcomes.
Fibre is perhaps best known for its relationship with digestion, but its role extends considerably beyond keeping us regular. Different fibres behave differently in the body. Some influence the physical movement of food through the digestive system, while others can be fermented by microbes living in the colon.
The science around fibre is well established, yet more than a decade after the recommendation increased, our diets still have not caught up. Perhaps part of the reason is much simpler than we might expect: many of us do not realise how little fibre we are actually eating.
Research commissioned by the Food and Drink Federation in 2025 found that just 7% of people knew the recommendation was 30g per day, while the average person surveyed believed they needed considerably less.
We have become accustomed to knowing certain nutritional numbers. Protein has entered the everyday wellness vocabulary, calories have been printed on packaging for decades and five-a-day became part of our understanding of healthy eating from childhood.
Fibre somehow remained in the background.
Perhaps fibre has a branding problem.
Historically, fibre has not been presented as particularly aspirational. Its cultural associations have tended towards bran cereal, brown bread and digestive regularity, with language that can feel considerably more medicinal, and actually boring vs delicious, and enticing.
That matters more than we might think.
The way we talk about food influences the way we think about it. Protein has successfully moved from sports nutrition into yoghurts, snacks, drinks and everyday conversations about wellbeing. Fibre, despite its importance, has struggled to make the same transition.
Something, however, appears to be changing. After years of protein dominating the wellness conversation, interest in fibre and the gut microbiome has brought this nutrient into a very different cultural space. Fibre-maxxing has entered social media vocabulary, plant diversity has become a familiar gut-health conversation and foods such as beans, lentils and seeds are being looked at through a new lens.
Perhaps fibre is finally having its rebrand.
Greater awareness alone may not be enough to close the fibre gap. Fibre occurs naturally in plant foods, yet modern diets do not always make these foods the default. Refining and processing can reduce the fibre naturally present in food, while convenience can mean that vegetables, beans, pulses and whole grains become something we consciously add rather than the foundation of a meal.
Food choices are also shaped by the realities of everyday life. What we eat depends not only on what we know about nutrition, but on what is affordable, accessible and realistic within the time we have. Recent UK dietary data has shown a relationship between income and fibre intake, alongside inequalities in fruit and vegetable consumption.
Perhaps, then, the fibre gap is not simply a question of knowing that we should eat more fibre. It also asks how easy our food environment makes it to eat that way in the first place.
So should we start fibre-maxxing?
Nutrition has a tendency to take something useful and turn it into another thing to optimise. Fibre does not need to become the next nutritional competition.
The aim is not to consume the largest possible number. In fact, dramatically increasing fibre overnight may be uncomfortable for some people, and individual digestive needs can vary considerably.
Instead, the 30g recommendation can be understood as a useful reflection of the kind of dietary pattern we are trying to build: one where plant foods appear in different forms, across different meals, consistently over time.
What Kurami takes from this.
At Kurami, fibre has always been an important part of how we think about nourishment. The recommended 30g matters, which is why our full-day London Meal Paths are designed to provide around 30g of fibre each day, while our Fibre Guide was created to make understanding and incorporating fibre into everyday eating feel a little simpler.
But reaching 30g is not simply about chasing a number. It is about where that fibre comes from and the wider dietary pattern surrounding it. Fibre-rich plant foods bring much more to the plate than fibre alone, which is why plant diversity remains so central to the way we approach food at Kurami. The aim is not to add fibre as an afterthought, but to build meals where it occurs naturally through a varied, plant-rich way of eating.
Perhaps that is what makes the fibre gap so interesting. We live in an era of increasingly sophisticated nutrition, where individual compounds can be isolated and foods can be formulated around very specific nutritional promises. Yet one of the most persistent shortfalls in the British diet concerns something remarkably ordinary: a natural component of plant foods that humans have eaten for generations.
Perhaps the future of nutrition is not always about discovering what else we can add. Sometimes it is about paying a little more attention to what has quietly disappeared from the way we eat. The 30g recommendation gives us a number, but the fibre gap tells us a much bigger story about what is making it onto our plates.
FAQs.
How much fibre should adults eat each day?
The NHS recommends that adults consume around 30g of fibre per day. However, many people in the UK are currently eating considerably less than this amount.
Why is fibre important?
Fibre is best known for supporting normal digestion, but different types of fibre have different roles within the body. Some help food move through the digestive system, while others can be fermented by microbes living in the colon.
What foods are naturally high in fibre?
Fibre is naturally found in plant foods, including vegetables, fruit, beans, pulses, whole grains, nuts and seeds. Eating a varied, plant-rich diet can help different sources of fibre appear naturally throughout the day.
How can I eat 30g of fibre a day?
Rather than relying on one particularly high-fibre food, it can be helpful to think about how fibre appears across the entire day. Kurami’s full-day London Meal Paths are designed to provide around 30g of fibre each day, while our Fibre Guide offers practical guidance for bringing more fibre and plant diversity into the way you eat.
Where can I learn more about fibre?
Kurami’s Fibre Guide was created to make understanding fibre feel simpler, exploring why it matters, where it comes from and practical ways to incorporate more fibre-rich foods into everyday meals. Discover the Kurami Fibre Guide to learn more.
Should I increase my fibre intake quickly?
Increasing fibre dramatically overnight may cause digestive discomfort for some people. It can be helpful to increase fibre gradually, alongside adequate fluid intake. Individual digestive needs can also vary, particularly for those with certain gastrointestinal conditions.
What is fibre-maxxing?
Fibre-maxxing is a social media wellness trend centred around deliberately increasing daily fibre intake. While greater awareness of fibre can be positive, the aim does not need to be consuming the largest possible amount. The UK recommendation of 30g per day offers a useful guide.
What is the fibre gap?
The fibre gap refers to the difference between the amount of fibre we are recommended to eat and the amount many of us actually consume. Despite the UK recommendation being 30g per day, average intake remains considerably lower, making fibre one of the more persistent shortfalls in the British diet.
Sources and further reading.
