Why Is Eating Enough Fibre So Hard?
Written by Dr. Alexis W. H. Chung
Nutritionist, Food Technologist & Functional Food Scientist
BSc Nutrition, PgD Human Nutrition, MSc Food Science, PgC Business, PhD Environment and Agriculture
Most of us know fibre is good for us
Most of us know fibre is good for us.
We hear it all the time: eat more vegetables, choose whole grains, add legumes, snack on fruit, look after your gut.
But if fibre is so important, why are so many of us still not getting enough?
In Australia, the recommended daily fibre intake is around 30 g/day for men and 25 g/day for women.¹ Yet Fayet-Moore et al. analysed national Australian dietary intake data and found that only 28.2% of adults met the Adequate Intake for fibre, and only 18.2% met the Suggested Dietary Target, meaning more than 80% were not reaching the higher fibre target linked with chronic disease risk reduction.²
In simple terms: for many Australians, eating enough fibre is not the norm.
And honestly? That makes sense.
Because getting enough fibre sounds simple on paper, but in real life, it can be surprisingly hard.
Fibre is easy to recommend, but hard to do every day
A healthy high-fibre diet usually means eating enough vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.
That is great advice.
But people are busy. Food is expensive. Cooking takes time. Some people do not tolerate certain fibre-rich foods well. Some people are managing gut symptoms. Some people have allergies, coeliac disease, gluten sensitivity, or other dietary restrictions.
A scoping review on healthy eating barriers found that common challenges include the low cost of unhealthy foods, lack of time to plan and cook, lack of facilities, lack of motivation, limited food skills, and the widespread availability of unhealthy food options.³
So, when people do not eat enough fibre, it is usually not because they do not care.
It is because real life does not always make it easy.
The gluten-free fibre problem
For people who are gluten-sensitive, gluten-intolerant, or living with coeliac disease, getting enough fibre can be even harder.
Many common fibre-rich foods are wheat-based, including wholegrain bread, wheat bran, high-fibre cereals, and many bakery products. But these are often not suitable for people who need to avoid gluten.
A 2023 review on coeliac disease and non-coeliac gluten/wheat sensitivity explains that a strict gluten-free diet is required for coeliac disease, while a gluten-restricted diet may be enough for some people with non-coeliac gluten/wheat sensitivity. However, both dietary patterns can increase the risk of nutritional imbalance and macro- or micronutrient deficiencies.⁴
The same review notes that gluten-free diets are often lower in complex carbohydrates and fibre, and higher in simple carbohydrates and fat, partly because of the flours and starches used in many gluten-free products.⁴
Another review on gluten-free products also highlights that gluten-free foods are often made with starches or refined flours, which can contribute to inadequate fibre intake.⁵
This is the part people do not always talk about.
Going gluten-free does not automatically mean eating healthier. For people who genuinely need to avoid gluten, it can sometimes make fibre intake harder, not easier.
When “healthy” food does not feel good in your body
There is another barrier too: tolerance.
Some high-fibre foods can cause bloating, discomfort, gas, or changes in bowel habits, especially when fibre intake increases too quickly or when someone has a sensitive gut.
That can create a frustrating loop.
You try to eat more fibre.
Your gut feels uncomfortable.
You stop eating fibre.
Then your fibre intake stays low.
This is why the type of fibre, the dose, the delivery format, and the daily routine all matter.
Fibre is not just about “more.” It is about finding a form that people can actually use consistently.
This is personal for us
PuriFibre did not start as a product idea on a whiteboard.
It started from a real problem.
Dr Alexis Chung, our co-founder, lives with coeliac disease herself. Like many people, she understood the science of fibre, but also knew how hard it could be to fit enough of it into daily life, especially when many common high-fibre foods were not suitable.
Even with a nutrition degree and postgraduate training, eating enough fibre was not always simple. When you are already trying to avoid foods that make you feel sick, managing work, life, stress, and daily meals can feel like a lot.
That is why PuriFibre became the product she wanted for herself: something gentle, compact, convenient, gluten-free, and easy to drink every day.
It was not made to replace a healthy diet. It was made to help close the gap between what we know we should do and what real life actually allows.
We asked real people why fibre was hard
Working with CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, our founders personally conducted over 100 customer interviews to better understand what people actually needed.⁶
What we heard again and again was simple:
People know fibre matters.
They just do not always know how to get enough.
And many existing options feel inconvenient, gritty, bulky, uncomfortable, or unsuitable for their dietary needs.
That insight shaped how we think about PuriFibre.
Not as a “perfect solution,” but as a practical one, designed to make daily fibre easier, gentler, and more realistic for everyday life.
Why liquid fibre makes sense
A liquid fibre shot is not the only way to increase fibre, but it does solve some very real barriers.
It is compact.
It is easy to take.
It does not require meal planning.
It can fit into a busy morning.
It is gluten-free.
It is designed for people who want a gentler daily option.
But for us, the most important part is this: it has to feel good to use.
For many people, eating more fibre is not always an enjoyable experience. It can feel like another rule. Another thing to remember. Another “healthy habit” that feels more like punishment than care.
And when you already have dietary restrictions, gut sensitivity, or foods you need to avoid just to feel okay, adding one more unpleasant routine can feel exhausting.
That was something Dr Alexis understood personally. Managing coeliac disease already means saying no to so many foods, reading labels, planning ahead, and constantly thinking about what is safe to eat. She did not want fibre to feel like another hard pill to swallow, literally or emotionally.
That is why PuriFibre was designed to feel different.
Not gritty.
Not bulky.
Not another capsule.
Not another miserable health chore.
Instead, it was made to feel like a small daily reward. Something that tastes good. Something easy to drink. Something that feels more like self-care than another task on the survival checklist.
Research on dietary fibre shows that fibre is linked with gut motility, metabolic health, gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acid production, cardiovascular health, and colonic health.⁷ But the same review also makes an important point: modern Western diets are often fibre-poor, and improving fibre intake likely requires more than education alone.⁷
That is exactly why experience matters.
The best fibre is not just the one that looks good in a scientific paper. It is the one people can actually keep taking.
And for us, that means making fibre something people can look forward to, not something they have to force themselves through.
Fibre should be easier
We believe gut health should feel realistic.
Not perfect.
Not overwhelming.
Not another complicated wellness rule.
Just one small daily habit that helps make getting fibre into our diets easier.
Because if most people are not getting enough fibre, the answer is not to blame them.
The answer is to build better options.
Options that fit into real life.
Options that support dietary restrictions.
Options that are gentle enough to repeat.
Options made by people who understand the problem personally.
That is the reason why we created PuriFibre: because we want to bring an effective, science-backed functional food, not a supplement, that is user-friendly in the real world.
For people who know fibre matters, but need an easier way to make it part of every day.
References
- National Health and Medical Research Council; Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Nutrient Reference Values for Australia and New Zealand: Dietary Fibre. https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/nutrient-reference-values/nutrients/dietary-fibre
- Fayet-Moore, F.; Cassettari, T.; Tuck, K.; McConnell, A.; Petocz, P. Dietary Fibre Intake in Australia. Paper I: Associations with Demographic, Socio-Economic, and Anthropometric Factors. Nutrients 2018, 10 (5), 599. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10050599
- Munt, A. E.; Partridge, S. R.; Allman-Farinelli, M. The Barriers and Enablers of Healthy Eating among Young Adults: A Missing Piece of the Obesity Puzzle: A Scoping Review. Obes. Rev. 2017, 18, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12472
- Abdi, F.; Zuberi, S.; Blom, J.-J.; Armstrong, D.; Pinto-Sanchez, M. I. Nutritional Considerations in Celiac Disease and Non-Celiac Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity. Nutrients 2023, 15, 1475. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061475
- Hosseini, S. M.; Soltanizadeh, N.; Mirmoghtadaee, P.; Banavand, P.; Mirmoghtadaie, L.; Shojaee-Aliabadi, S. Gluten-Free Products in Celiac Disease: Nutritional and Technological Challenges and Solutions. J. Res. Med. Sci. 2018, 23, 109. https://doi.org/10.4103/jrms.JRMS_666_18
- Balchand, J. From PhDs to Market-Ready Solutions: How Organic Ocean Is Redefining Seaweed for Health. Startup News, May 28, 2025. https://startupnews.com.au/interview/from-phds-to-market-ready-solutions-how-organic-ocean-is-redefining-seaweed-for-health/
- Barber, T. M.; Kabisch, S.; Pfeiffer, A. F. H.; Weickert, M. O. The Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3209. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12103209
