How to reduce your heart disease, dementia and cancer risk with 12 everyday high-fibre foods | Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & Prof Sarah Berry

**Jonathan** (0:00)
Welcome to ZOE Science & Nutrition, where world-leading scientists explain how their research can improve your health.
Imagine discovering that one of the most powerful tools for protecting your health has been hiding in plain sight all along. Not locked away in an expensive supplement or the latest wellness trend, but sitting quietly on supermarket shelves, overlooked for decades. For years, protein has dominated the conversation. It's been added to cereals, yogurts, snack bars and even water. While we've been chasing protein, an essential part of our diet has all but disappeared from our plates.
Now, fiber is making an unexpected comeback. From social media fees to supermarket shelves, people are suddenly paying attention to it. But is this just another nutrition craze? Or are we rediscovering something we should never have neglected in the first place? If so, how did we end up eating so little? And can getting more really be as simple as reaching for more peas? Many of us are intimidated by fiber. Unlike protein ice cream, plants require us to actually do something with them.
Luckily, joining me today is Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a legendary chef who champions seasonal local ingredients. In the UK, he's a household name, known for his TV show River Cottage. His new book, High Fibre Heroes, celebrates 12 everyday ingredients that prove that eating more fiber doesn't have to be expensive or complicated and certainly not boring. Also joining me is Sarah Berry, Professor of Nutrition at King's College London, a world leader in large scale human nutrition studies and Chief Scientist at ZOE. Today, Hugh will not only show us why these ingredients aren't boring, but also outline some wonderfully easy ways to incorporate them into our everyday diet. In this episode, we'll explore why so many of us are dangerously short on fibre, if fibre maxing is the next big nutrition movement, and which plants are the best. We'll also hear why Hugh believes everyday vegetables deserve hero status, and discover simple, delicious ways to eat more of them starting today.
Hugh, do you have some fantastic yet simple recipes for us today?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (2:20)
I certainly do. That's a yes.

**Jonathan** (2:23)
Sarah, can you get all the protein you need from plants?

**Sarah Berry** (2:26)
Yes.

**Jonathan** (2:27)
Hugh, does following a high fibre diet have to be expensive?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (2:31)
No.

**Jonathan** (2:32)
Sarah, is fibre maxing a dangerous new internet craze?

**Sarah Berry** (2:37)
No.

**Jonathan** (2:38)
Hugh, is cooking fibre rich meals difficult and technical?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (2:42)
No.

**Jonathan** (2:44)
Sarah, I don't like kale. Do I need to eat it to be healthy?

**Sarah Berry** (2:49)
Oh, no. I don't like it either.

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (2:52)
But you should try my kale porridge.

**Jonathan** (2:54)
Hugh, in the Elizabethan era, did women sometimes wear carrots in their hats?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (3:00)
Yes.

**Jonathan** (3:01)
One of my favorite things from the book. Okay. Finally, Hugh, what's the most common myth about fibre that you come up against?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (3:09)
I think the most common myth about fibre is that it's somehow boring or difficult or both, and it's absolutely neither. We'll knock that myth on the head in the next hour or so.

**Jonathan** (3:20)
I do think that the word fibre immediately feels really boring to me, and it's felt like for a long time, protein has been this incredibly sexy nutrient that's been in the spotlight. But I have noticed that the public's attention definitely seems to be turning towards fibre over the last year.
I think one of the questions is, is this like yet another social media craze that benefits no one, that's driven by some people trying to sell some things and then will move on? I'm looking forward to understanding whether this is a long-term trend or yet another internet flash in the pan. But can I just start with the beginning? What is fibre and where does it come from?

**Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall** (4:00)
Well, from a chef's point of view, fibre is basically a really exciting and useful thing that's in almost all plants in one form or another.
This is a pick up on the boring question. If we think about fibre in a reductive way, the fibre inside the plant, maybe we extract it all as bran or some chicory reduction or something, and then we start using it as an ingredient additive or we sell it in capsules. That's pretty boring. When we talk about fibre in our kitchen and in our recipes, we should never forget the wrappers. The wrappers are plants. They're all the best ingredients you can have in your kitchen. They're full of flavour, they're full of goodness. You can eat a lot of them raw.