But as supermarket shelves become crowded with products boasting 'high protein', 'high fibre', 'whole grain' and 'gut health' claims, it can be hard to know what's really going on inside the packet.
With it being Men's Health Week, I decided to compare two cereals that regularly appear in our pantry: Kellogg's Sultana Bran and Uncle Tobys Oats Flakes....my hubby's choice and he has these on busy mornings other days opting for porridge or peanut butter on toast with a piece of fruit when he gets to work.
Food manufacturers pay very close attention to health conversations.
When protein became popular, products everywhere suddenly became 'high protein'. Now, as research continues to highlight the importance of gut health, we're seeing a new marketing trend emerge: fibre. Suddenly cereals, snack bars, yoghurts and drinks are all promoting their fibre content.
But here's the catch. Two foods can contain identical amounts of fibre while having very different effects in the body.
If you've spent any time on social media lately, you may have come across the term fibremaxxing. After protein dominating the wellness conversation, fibre is finally having its moment.
Fibremaxxing encourages people to maximise their fibre intake to support gut health, improve digestion and help them feel fuller for longer. Given that most Australians aren't eating enough fibre, increasing our intake is generally a positive thing.
But, as often happens on social media, a helpful message can quickly become oversimplified.
The conversation can shift from 'eat more plants' to 'how can I cram as much fibre as possible into my day?'
The supermarket responds and now 'high fibre' claims dominate certain categories on the front of pack. And while added fibres can contribute to our overall intake, they raise an important question:
The answer is no. Our gut doesn't simply count grams of fibre. It responds to the type, diversity and structure of the foods we eat.
Perhaps instead of fibremaxxing, we should think about fibre diversifying – eating a wide variety of plant foods across the week and allowing our gut microbes to enjoy the buffet.
Imagine two breakfasts:
1. Breakfast one contains rolled oats topped with berries, nuts and seeds.
2. Breakfast two contains a highly processed cereal with added fibres.
Both might provide similar amounts of fibre on paper. However, our digestive system doesn't simply read the nutrition panel.
It responds to the entire food matrix.
The food matrix refers to the natural structure of a food – how nutrients are packaged together within the food itself.
Whole plant foods contain fibre within cell walls, skins, seeds and plant tissues. This natural structure slows digestion, helps regulate blood sugar, supports fullness and feeds a wide range of beneficial gut microbes. When foods are heavily processed, ingredients are often separated, refined, concentrated and recombined into new forms. Fibre may then be added back in the form of isolated ingredients such as:
These ingredients can still contribute fibre and may offer benefits for some people. However, they don't completely recreate the complexity of eating the original food. Research increasingly suggests that food structure itself influences digestion, satiety and metabolic responses.
Yes, however in Australia, a grain can still be classified as whole grain after being rolled, flaked, cracked or milled, provided all parts of the grain — the bran, germ and endosperm — remain present in the same proportions as in the original grain.
This means products such as rolled oats and many breakfast cereals can legitimately be labelled as whole grain.
This doesn't necessarily mean they are identical to eating the grain in its original form.
The manufacturing processes used to create breakfast cereals often involve cooking, pressure, drying, flaking and toasting. These processes can alter the grain's physical structure, affecting how quickly it is digested, how satisfying it is and potentially how our blood sugar responds. So while a product may technically be whole grain, it may still be more highly processed than the original grain.
Whole grain is an important piece of information, but it isn't the whole story. Food structure matters too.
Positives:
Considerations:
Positives:
Considerations:
The answer depends on the bigger picture. If we're thinking purely about ingredient simplicity and preserving more of the original food structure, Oats Flakes would generally come out ahead.
The important message is this: Avoid reducing food to a single nutrient.
Instead, consider asking:
Adding yoghurt, nuts, seeds and fresh fruit alongside cereal can significantly improve the nutritional quality of breakfast and support gut health. Because ultimately, food is information.
If you'd like to transition away from packet breakfast cereals, check out The Root Cause Breakfast Reset
Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council. Put your whole grain to the test.
Fardet A. New hypotheses for the health-protective mechanisms of whole-grain cereals: what is beyond fibre? Food & Function. 2010.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Whole grain foods.