How much fibre do you need per day? Here's how to hit your daily target - Health

Jan 14, 2026

Get the most out of every meal with our expert guide to the benefits of a high-fibre diet.

TikTok is awash with so many nutrition trends, it can be hard to keep up. The protein craze. The gluten-free diet. The sleepy girl mocktail. But are any of these claims actually legit? Not always. But there is one trend that is making nutritionists happy, and while it doesn’t offer the flashy promises of the ketogenic diet, or the tasty allure of the McMigraine meal, it can do your body some real good. We’re talking about ‘fibremaxxing’.

Sweet potato, chorizo, broad bean and chickpea rice salad.

What is fibremaxxing?

Fibremaxxing is all about maximising your daily fibre intake, and the claims are that it can improve your digestive health and possibly even help you lose weight. Keen to give it a try? According to clinical nutritionist Brooke Kelly, increasing your fibre intake is a great idea.

“Fibre is the quiet overachiever of nutrition,” she says. “It feeds your gut microbes, helps regulate hormones and blood sugar, supports digestion and even benefits your skin. Most Australians are only hitting about half their daily target, so upping fibre is a great move.”

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Passionfruit and mango chia seed puddings.

The benefits of dietary fibre

Eating more fibre every day can improve your health in so many ways. Beyond keeping you regular, the benefits of eating enough fibre include:

Weight control: Fibre-rich foods tend to be very satiating, which means they help you to feel fuller for longer. This can help you to avoid overeating.
A healthy gut: Fibre feeds the ‘good’ bacteria in your gut, which helps to strengthen your gut lining, reduce inflammation, boost your immune system and even help to improve your mood.
Heart health: dietary fibre – especially soluble fibre, which is found in foods like oats, legumes, fruits and vegetables – helps to reduce ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, which in turn reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke.
Overall health: eating a high-fibre diet has been linked to a much lower risk of developing diseases like type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. Fibre slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, which keeps blood glucose levels stable; it also helps to maintain a healthier digestive system, reducing your cancer risk.

Big grain salad — Cornersmith’s big grain salad.

How much fibre do I need?

Australian Dietary Guidelines recommend men aim for 30g of fibre daily, while women should aim for 25g daily. To hit your targets, Nutrition Australia recommends choosing wholegrain, wholemeal and/or high-fibre varieties of grain-based foods like bread and pasta. You should also try to incorporate a variety of other wholegrains into your diet, including brown rice, oats, quinoa, buckwheat and barley. And of course, you should be eating your two serves of fruit and five of veg every day. Here’s a breakdown of how much fibre is in some common foods:

1 cup wholemeal pasta: 7.9g fibre
2 x 30g slices wholemeal bread: 3.8g fibre
30g rolled oats: 2.9g fibre
100g lentils: 3.7g fibre
1 cup brown rice: 2.7g fibre
1 cup sweet potato (unpeeled): 3.7g fibre
1 cup broccoli: 3.8g fibre
1x 100g apple with skin: 2.2g fibre
1 medium banana: 2.3g fibre
30g almonds (about 25): 3g fibre

Mixed grains with greens, smoked trout and yoghurt.

Can you eat too much fibre?

The issue isn’t so much about eating too much fibre – it’s more about increasing your fibre intake too suddenly, especially if you didn’t previously eat a very high-fibre diet.

“Increasing fibre too quickly – going from low to high overnight – can cause temporary bloating, gas or changes in stool frequency,” Kelly says. “But if you find that fibre consistently upsets your gut, it’s worth seeing a practitioner who specialises in gut health, to identify and address the root cause, rather than cutting fibre out altogether – doing so could lead to other consequences.”

Even if you do increase your intake slowly, there are still risks if you take things too far. According to the Victorian State Government’s Better Health Channel, very high-fibre diets (more than 40g per day) are linked with decreased absorption of some important minerals, including iron, zinc and calcium. The increased fibre binds with these minerals, and your body then excretes them. Over time, this can cause deficiencies and potential health problems.

Hot honey haloumi salad with crispy chickpeas.

So where should I start?

Luckily, eating enough fibre is easy, and can be incorporated into a balanced, healthy diet.

“I always encourage people to build meals with balance by adding plenty of fibre-rich foods – like vegetables, fruits, legumes and wholegrains – in proportion to the rest of the meal. Pairing fibre with enough protein, healthy fats and water will help your gut adjust to the increase in volume.”

The University of Queensland offers this simple formula:

Step 1: fill half of your plate with non-starchy vegetables – basically anything that isn’t potato, sweet potato, peas or corn.
Step 2: fill one-quarter of your plate with complex carbohydrates – whole grains and wholegrain foods, starchy vegies and fruits.
Step 3: fill a quarter of your plate with a lean protein source – lean red meat, poultry, fish or seafood; eggs, tofu, dairy or legumes.
Step 4: add a small portion of healthy fats – think extra virgin olive oil, avocado or nuts and seeds.

Keeping things simple like this will help you to not only keep up your daily fibre intake; it’ll also help you to eat well everyday and increase your overall nutrient intake. Remember to include a wide variety of healthy foods every week, and you’ll be golden.

“The simplest, most balanced habits are usually the ones that work long-term,” Kelly says. “Use good judgement, and check in with a practitioner if you’re unsure.”