Fibre is having a moment, and it's easy to see why.
Walk down the snack aisle and you’ll notice something has changed. Protein bars aren’t just competing on protein anymore.
Now the biggest selling point often looks like this:
10g fibre
15g fibre
20g fibre
The bigger the number, the better the snack must be… right? Not necessarily.
Fibre is an incredibly important part of a balanced diet. It supports digestive health, helps keep us feeling satisfied, and plays an important role in our overall wellbeing. But when it comes to snacks, there’s more to the story than simply chasing the highest number on the nutrition panel.
A snack should be considered as a whole.
Ask yourself:
- Where are those nutrition claims coming from?
- What ingredients are providing those numbers?
- How does it fit into your overall food intake?
- How does your body feel after eating it?
That's why, at Sneaky Wholefoods, we focus on creating snacks with balanced nutrition using a wholefood-based approach. Rather than chasing the biggest nutrition claim, we believe it's the combination of quality ingredients that matters most.
Why do we need fibre?
Fibre is an essential part of our diet, yet many Australians don’t consume enough of it.
Fibre can help support:
- Healthy digestion
- Regular bowel movements
- Feeling satisfied after eating
- A healthy gut microbiome
The recommended daily intake for adults is approximately:
- 25g per day for women
- 30g per day for men
These recommendations are intended to be achieved across your entire day, not in a single snack.
The rise of the “high fibre” protein bar
Protein bars have evolved to more than just high protein. Many protein bars are now designed to be:
✓ High protein
✓ Low sugar
✓ High fibre
To achieve these nutrition claims, many manufacturers use added functional fibres to increase the fibre content of their products.
Functional fibres have an important role in food manufacturing and can help improve a product's texture, shelf life and nutrition profile. However, they're different from the fibre naturally found in wholefoods, where fibre exists alongside vitamins, minerals, healthy fats and other naturally occurring nutrients. Understanding where a snack's fibre comes from and why it's been included, can help you make a more informed choice.
Not all fibre is created equal
When you look at a nutrition panel, the fibre number only tells part of the story.
The ingredient list tells you where that fibre is coming from.
Fibre from wholefood ingredients
This is fibre that naturally exists within foods.
Examples:
- Dates
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Psyllium husk
These ingredients provide far more than just fibre. They also contribute healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, flavour and texture as part of the whole food.
Added functional fibres
Some products use concentrated fibre ingredients that are added during manufacturing to increase fibre content or improve texture.
Examples include:
- Tapioca IMO (isomaltooligosaccharides)
- Chicory root fibre/inulin
- Liquid Chicory Root
- Soluble corn fibre
- Resistant dextrin
- Wheat fibre
These ingredients have a purpose to:
✓ Increase fibre content
✓ Reduce digestible carbohydrates
✓ Improve texture
✓ Create a softer, chewier bar
and can be useful in certain products, but they are different from simply eating fibre-rich whole foods.
This is why you’ll often see it used in products marketed as:
“High fibre”
“Low carb”
“High protein”
Why can some high fibre snacks cause gut discomfort?
Have you ever eaten a “healthy” snack and then wondered why your stomach didn’t feel so great afterwards?
For some people, consuming large amounts of added fibre, especially if their usual fibre intake is lower, may contribute to digestive discomfort.
This can include:
- bloating
- gas
- abdominal discomfort
- changes in digestion
The issue isn’t fibre itself.
It’s about:
- The type of fibre.
- The amount consumed.
- Whether the snack also contains other ingredients that may contribute to digestive discomfort, such as sugar alcohols.
- Your individual tolerance.
Our bodies also adapt to fibre over time, which is why gradually increasing fibre intake is generally recommended.
Read the ingredient list, not just the nutrition panel
One of the easiest ways to better understand a snack is to flip it over.
Ingredients are listed in order of quantity, from highest to lowest.
That means if you see ingredients like:
- Tapioca IMO
- Chicory root fibre
- Soluble corn fibre
near the top of the ingredient list, they're making up a significant portion of the product.
That's not necessarily a bad thing.
But it does give you a better understanding of where those impressive fibre numbers are coming from.
At Sneaky Wholefoods, we'd always encourage looking beyond the marketing claim and considering the ingredient list alongside the nutrition panel.
Why Sneaky Wholefoods takes a different approach
We wanted to create snacks that tasted amazing, used recognisable wholefood ingredients, and delivered balanced nutrition without relying on extreme nutrition claims.
Our signature wholefood base includes ingredients like:
🌴 Dates
🥜 Cashews
💪 Pea protein
🌿 Psyllium husk
Instead of adding fibre simply to increase a claim, we focus on creating snacks where protein, fibre, carbohydrates and fats work together.
So, how much fibre should a snack have?
There isn't one magic number that works for everyone.
A good snack should contribute towards your daily fibre intake without needing to provide an extreme amount in one sitting.
That's why our Protein Bars and Nourish Bites contain an average of 3g of fibre per serve, a meaningful contribution towards your daily fibre intake, while staying true to our wholefood and balanced approach to nutrition.
When choosing a snack, look beyond the fibre number and ask yourself:
✓ Where is the fibre coming from?
✓ Are the ingredients recognisable?
✓ Does it contain a balance of nutrients?
✓ Does it leave you feeling good afterwards?
At the end of the day, the best snack isn't always the one with the biggest claim on the front of the pack.
It's the one made with quality ingredients, balanced nutrition, and one that leaves you feeling nourished long after you've finished eating it.
Discover our range of wholefood-based protein snacks today
