Written by James McIntosh
Reviewed by Sammie Gill
Fibre is a carbohydrate in many plant foods, and your body doesn’t digest or absorb it.
So, a low-fibre diet reduces the amount of undigested food that has to move through your gut. It's also called a low-residue diet.
Doctors may recommend this for a short period if a medical condition is affecting your gut and fibre is contributing to your symptoms.
It’s important to only follow a low-fibre diet if a doctor or dietitian recommends it.
There’s no single best low-fibre diet because experts haven’t come up with a universally accepted definition. There are variations, and what works best may depend on your body.
In this article, we’ll look at which foods belong in a low-fibre diet. We’ll also explore meal plans and tips for making this diet work.
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Foods to eat on a low-fibre diet
Below, you’ll find a list of low-fibre options in different food groups.
But first, here’s a tip: try to only eat the flesh of fruits and vegetables – avoid skins, seeds, pips and stalks.
Tinned fruits and vegetables in natural juices are a great option.
If you have time, stewing, cooking or blending fruit or veg without their skins can make these foods easier to digest.
Fruits
- apples
- apricots
- peaches
- nectarines
- ripe bananas
- kiwis
- lychees
- mangos
- melons (such as watermelon and honeydew)
- pears
- plums
- tinned fruit cocktail
Vegetables
- aubergine
- avocado (smooth)
- beetroot
- broccoli
- carrots
- cauliflower
- courgette
- marrow
- cucumbers
- lettuce
- mushrooms
- onions
- peppers
- potatoes and sweet potatoes
- radishes
- swede
- turnips
Boiling and mashing are good ways to prepare starchy veg. In general, it’s best to avoid raw veggies on a low-fibre diet.
Meats, fish, dairy and meat alternatives
- cheese
- eggs
- fish
- chicken, turkey and lean cuts of beef and pork
- plant-based meat alternatives
- soya
- tofu
- smooth yoghurt
When you’re choosing meats, steer clear of tough or fatty cuts to be kinder to your gut.
Breads and cereals
- cereals made from corn or rice
- crackers, like cream crackers and other types without added seeds or oats
- plain rice cakes
- crumpets, Scotch pancakes and plain scones
- white breads (including pitta and naan)
- white pasta
- white noodles
- white rice
Drinks
- coffee
- fruit or vegetable juice without bits
- smooth fruit smoothies
- milk
- squash
- tea
Other foods
- Snacks: plain biscuits, corn snacks, potato crisps and pretzels
- Condiments: smooth peanut butter, brown sauce, mayonnaise, salad cream and yeast extract
- Soups and sauces: smooth soups, tomato puree, tomato sauce and gravy
- Sweet extras: chocolate and smooth jams and marmalades
Low-fibre diet meal plan
You can make many meals with the above ingredients. But if you’re looking for ideas, here are some low-fibre meals to try throughout the day.
Breakfast
- two slices of toasted white bread with either smooth strawberry jam or smooth avocado and a poached egg
- a bowl of cornflakes or rice cereal with milk
- smooth yoghurt with stewed apple
Lunch
- a sandwich with white bread, lettuce, tomato (no skin or seeds), cucumber (without skin), egg, cheese and prawns or ham
- a smooth or pureed soup, like creamy tomato soup
-
tuna salad with mayonnaise, cucumber, tomato (no skin or seeds) and lettuce
Snacks
- plain white or cream crackers and cheese or smooth peanut butter
- tinned fruit cocktail
- smooth hummus and cucumber sticks (without skin)
-
crumpets with smooth jam, yeast extract or cheese
Dinner
- sausages, mashed potato with swede, and gravy
- cauliflower and broccoli macaroni cheese
- an omelette with cheese and tomato (no skin or seeds), plus new potatoes and a side salad
Tips for a low-fibre diet
Following a low-fibre diet can be tricky before you get the hang of it. Here are some tips to get you started:
- Generally, foods count as low-fibre if they have less than 3 grams of fibre per 100 g.
- Some researchers suggest that a low-fibre diet means consuming no more than 10 g of fibre a day.
- Remember to remove the skins, seeds and stalks of fruits and vegetables to reduce their fibre contents.
- Opt for soft over hard foods.
- Vary your meals to make sure you’re getting a range of nutrients.
- If you’re following the diet for a few weeks, consider taking a multivitamin supplement to ensure that you’re not missing important nutrients.
- To make your meals more nutritious, pair them with a low-fibre salad of lettuce, cucumber (without skin), tomato (without skin and seeds) and an olive oil dressing.
- Cooking doesn’t impact a food’s fibre content much, but stewing, boiling, blending and pureeing make foods easier to digest, which is kinder on your gut.
Foods to avoid
Some foods are best to avoid on a low-fibre diet. Try to steer clear of these when you can:
Fruits
- berries
- citrus fruits
- currants
- dates
- dried fruits
- figs
- pineapple
Vegetables
- artichokes
- asparagus
- beans
- Brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- kale
- peas
- potato skins
- rhubarb
- spinach
- sweetcorn
Meats, fish, dairy and meat alternatives
- cheese studded with nuts or fruit
- meat and fish coated in pastry or breadcrumbs
- nuts
- pulses, including beans
- seeds
- yoghurt with bits
Breads and cereals
- brown rice
- cereals with added fruit or nuts
- oat-based cereal and granola
- wholemeal breads (including pitta and naan)
- wholemeal crackers
- wholemeal pasta
Drinks
- fruit juice with bits
Other foods
- Bombay mix
- popcorn
- chunky soups
- spicy foods, as these can make some gut symptoms worse
- crunchy peanut butter
- jams and marmalade with seeds or peel
Reasons for a low-fibre diet
A doctor may recommend a low-fibre diet if you’re having a difficult time with a medical condition affecting your bowel.
These conditions and situations include:
- Crohn’s disease (active, or in a flare stage)
- ulcerative colitis
- diverticulitis
- narrowing or a blockage in the bowel
- a high-output stoma
- recent abdominal surgery
You may also need a low-fibre diet if you’re due for a colonoscopy.
In this procedure, a clinician inserts a thin tube with a camera into your bottom to take a look at your bowel.
Doctors tend to recommend a low-fibre diet as a temporary measure. If you need to follow the diet for more than a few weeks, a dietitian should guide you.
Effects of a low-fibre diet
A low-fibre diet means that your gut will have to do less work digesting food and transporting what you don’t digest.
Following this diet reduces your amount of poo and how often you poo. It may also help minimise gut symptoms such as bloating and diarrhoea.
A low-fibre diet can also reduce the risk of gut blockages, as less food that’s difficult or impossible to digest will be passing through your gut.
You should only have a low-fibre diet for a specific medical reason.
It's important for a dietitian to support you as you follow the diet and gradually build back up to a regular one when it’s appropriate.
Are there any risks of a low-fibre diet?
For most people, eating lots of fibre keeps the digestive system healthy and supports the gut microbiome. This community of microbes living in your gut can influence many areas of your health.
Eating a low level of fibre every day can put you at risk of constipation.
Also, fibre fills you up, so a low-fibre diet may mean that you’re hungry more often.
Meanwhile, a high-fibre diet likely offers health benefits. Research suggests an association between high-fibre diets and a lower risk of early death and health conditions like heart disease, stroke and type 2 diabetes.
That said, if your low-fibre diet is just temporary, it won’t negatively affect your gut health in the longer term.
And if a doctor has recommended this diet, the benefits will likely outweigh the risks.
Preparing for a colonoscopy
You may need to follow a low-fibre diet for 2 days before a colonoscopy. Throughout the day before, you’ll also need to take laxatives.
The aim of both the diet and laxatives is to make sure your bowel is as empty as possible, giving the doctor the clearest view during their examination.
Reintroducing fibre
Once you’ve been advised to finish your low-fibre diet, you’ll gradually start eating more fibre.
This gentle approach gives your body time to adjust and allows you to take note of any returning symptoms.
For the first week, add a little fibre once a day. This could mean a portion of fruit or vegetables with the skin on.
If this seems OK, try adding a portion of wholemeal carbs once a day for the following week.
Make sure you’re drinking plenty of water to keep your poo soft and allow your body to make the most of the extra fibre.
It’s important to only start increasing your fibre intake when your doctor or dietitian recommends it.
After a colonoscopy, you can go back to eating normally straight away, though some people have softer or lighter meals for a day or so.
Learn more about high-fibre meals for constipation.
Frequently asked questions
Let’s look at some questions that people have asked about low-fibre diets.
Can you eat bananas on a low-fibre diet?
Yes, you can eat bananas on a low-fibre diet. Opt for riper bananas, which are softer and easier on your digestive system.
Can you eat crisps on a low-fibre diet?
Yes, you can eat crisps on a low-fibre diet. In this case, potato crisps are better than vegetable crisps.
But avoid any with spicy flavouring, which might irritate your gut.
How about a baked potato?
Yes, baked potatoes belong in a low-fibre diet. But don’t eat the skins, as they contain the most fibre.
Summary
A low-fibre diet limits how much indigestible food has to pass through your gut.
You may need to follow this diet temporarily if you have a bowel condition, you’re recovering from abdominal surgery or you’re due for a colonoscopy.
If following a low-fibre diet makes you feel worse or you notice any new symptoms, be sure to speak with your doctor or dietitian.
To learn more about fibre and other gut health topics, visit Symprove’s Gut Hub.
Sources
Bowel preparation for colonoscopy: European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE) guideline. Endoscopy. (2019). Link.
Carbohydrate quality and human health: A series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The Lancet. (2019). Link.
Colonoscopy. (2022). Link.
Low fibre diet. (2023). Link.
Low fibre diet (low residue diet). (2021). Link.
Low fibre diet sheet. (2023). Link.
Low fibre/low residue diet advice. (2022). Link.
Low-residue and low-fiber diets in gastrointestinal disease management. Advances in Nutrition. (2015). Link.
