Do you know how much fibre you are supposed to be eating each day to maintain optimum health?
Sports dietitian Nicole Dynan worries most people are not hitting that target.
"Most Australians aren't getting enough fibre in their diet … that would probably be on average 15 to 20 grams," she said.
"The guidelines say women need around 25 to 30 grams a day and we're way under our target."
The average recommended daily intake for men is around 35 grams.
But adding more fibre to your favourite loaf of bread could easy, according to the team at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT).
RMIT scientists have created technology that they believe can be added to all your favourite foods to make them healthier without changing the taste, texture and colour.
The new technology, called FibreX, is a conversion of native starches into dietary fibre to be added to low-fibre foods such as white bread, cakes, pizza and sauces to make them healthier.
According to RMIT associate professor Asgar Farahnaky, FibreX is completely tasteless so will not change the consistency of your favourite loaf of bread.
"It's just like a parent hiding vegetables in a child's meal to make it more nutritious," Dr Farahnaky said.
The team at RMIT have used the produced dietary fibre in breads and cakes at their food innovation centre.
Dr Farahnaky says the results have been pleasing.
"FibreX is ready to be acquired by the industry for large-scale production of starch-based dietary fibre," he said.
"Once that happens, the produced dietary fibre will become available for use in food products."
How will it help?
Ms Dynan is particularly interested in FibreX's claims it will not change the taste of foods.
"A lot of other fibre supplements on the market tend to make the food a little but gluggy or harder to digest," she said.
Ms Dynan says the product may be beneficial for those who suffer with coeliac disease or an intolerance to gluten.
"People cut out a lot of whole grains in their diet when eating a gluten-free diet and possibly are reaching for more processed and convenient options that could be lower in fibre," she said.
"If it's in breads that are more difficult to get those wholegrain fibres into in a gluten-free state, it might be useful in those kinds of products."
Working with people who predominantly present with gut health issues, Ms Dynan thinks the product could help those suffering from symptoms caused by low-fibre diets.
"One of the most common things my clients present with is low-fibre intake, so I can see it could be helpful just to have more options on the market," she said.
"It certainly looks beneficial from the point of view of filling people up, managing weight, and perhaps helping with blood sugar level stabilisation just from having more fibre in your diet."
