Weight management – the role of protein and fibre

Fibre

Over the past few decades, dietary fibre has been extensively studied and has been found to play an essential role in maintaining optimal health and wellbeing. A high fibre intake has been linked with blood glucose control, weight maintenance and digestive health and there is a wealth of information to support the recommendation for Australians to consume an adequate amount of dietary fibre from a variety of sources. Current Australian recommendations for daily fibre intake are shown in Table 1. A diet rich in fibre-containing foods is usually also rich in a variety of nutrients such as magnesium, which have additional health benefits. A meal that is rich in fibre also tends to be digested more slowly, increasing the sensation of fullness. A number of McCain Healthy Choice meals provide up to a third of a person’s daily fibre intake. These meals are shown in Table 3.

Table 1: Adequate Intakes (AIs) for fibre are as follows:

Protein

Protein intake at a meal can increase feelings of fullness and can also aid in bodyweight maintenance due to its effect on preserving muscle mass. Research has shown that the protein content of a food can determine how satisfied someone feels immediately after eating and the protein content of a meal can also influence how much food a person eats. Due to its effect on satiety, research also shows that a high intake of dietary protein limits body weight gain. Many of the McCain Healthy Choice meals provide almost half the daily intake for protein. Table 2 shows the Australian recommended daily intake for protein while Table 3 shows the McCain Healthy Choice meals that are high in fibre and Table 4 shows those that are highest in protein.

Table 2: Recommended daily intakes (RDI) for protein:

Table 3: McCain’s Healthy Choice meals with the highest fibre content per serve

Table 4: McCain’s Healthy Choice meals with the highest protein content per serve