Fibre: The Unsung Essential Nutrient?

Nutrition experts are advocating for dietary fibre to be officially recognized as an essential nutrient, a status currently held by vitamins, amino acids, and minerals. Researchers argue that existing scientific evidence now meets the criteria for essentiality, particularly concerning the gut microbiome's dependence on fibre. Despite being promoted for decades, fibre has lacked this official classification due to the absence of a clearly defined deficiency disease, a gap experts believe has now been closed.

The definition of an essential nutrient includes being beneficial to health, not produced by the body, and causing measurable harm if absent. Dietary fibre meets these benchmarks, with its crucial role in feeding the gut microbiome being a key factor. A compromised microbiome, due to insufficient fibre, impairs digestion, immunity, and metabolic regulation, analogous to a deficiency state.