guess who's coming to dinner in the new millenium - fibre - VEA

GUESS WHO’S COMING TO
DINNER IN THE NEW MILLENIUM -
FIBRE
Video Support Notes
Following many requests, these notes have been printed on
A4 size sheets for easy photocopying
Video Education Australasia
111A MITCHELL STREET, BENDIGO, VIC 3550
TELEPHONE (03) 5442 2433, FAX (03) 5441 1148
IN NEW ZEALAND – FREECALL PHONE 0800 486 688
FREECALL FAX 0800 488 668
www.vea.com.au
Duration 19 mins
Produced by Video Education Australasia
Teacher notes by: Annette Mouat
WARNING
This program is protected by copyright laws both in Australia and overseas.
The penalties for unauthorised copying of this program include a $50,000 fine
for individuals and a $250,000 fine for institutions.

SYNOPSIS
GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER IN THE NEW
MILLENIUM? - FIBRE
This video demonstrates and explains:
• Definition of dietary fibre
• Health risks from a low fibre diet
• Structure and sources of fibre
• Recommended daily dietary requirements of fibre
• Fibre and the digestive system
• How dietary fibre minimizes risk of certain diseases
• How to increase fibre in the diet.
SUGGESTED USES OF THE VIDEO
• Health and Physical Education classes
• Nutrition, Health and Human Development classes Food Technology classes where
planning healthy diets is required
• Science classes where the topics of digestion and function of plant products in the diet
are studied.
SUGGESTED PRE-VIDEO DISCUSSION
• The video will show us how a substance we eat in plant products and don’t really digest,
helps us to remain healthy and lessen the risk of some unpleasant diseases.
• By watching Mischa, a young guy, learning about this substance called dietary fibre, you
should be able to get a good idea about why it is important to eat enough fibre.
• The video tells how to increase the amount of faeces we do daily and thus improve our
chances of good health.
DETAILED VIDEO CONTENT
Mischa is shown eating white bread while a voice over explains that fibre used to be called
roughage and how it protects us from the “diseases of affluence” such as colon cancer,
coronary heart disease, diabetes, diverticulitis, high cholesterol and obesity. It also helps
control diabetes and relieves constipation.
WHAT IS FIBRE? Fibre is the cell walls of plants, the skin and flesh of fruit and vegetables
and the outer covering of grains such as wheat and rice.
The fibre content of a lettuce leaf and cabbage leaf is compared – the easily torn lettuce leaf
contains less fibre than the tougher cabbage leaf.
Strong fibrous cell walls prevent plants being liquids, noting that milk has approximately about
90% water which is similar to the water content of many fruit and vegetables. If someone
chews/eats fruit it takes them longer than drinking a fluid, consequently it is harder to over
consume solid foods containing dietary fibre.
Carbohydrate classification is described as
• Available e.g. starches and sugars which are digested in the stomach and small intestine;
• Unavailable e.g. cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectin which pass through the stomach,
undigested to the colon and are the most important types of fibre.
There are also the non-carbohydrate types of fibre called Lignin, gums and mucilages.
Cellulose makes up the structure of plant cell walls and is found in all plant foods e.g.
wholegrains, brans, wholemeal bread, dried fruit and the cabbage family,
Hemicelluloses are found in plant tissues; especially cereal husks/bran and they have a high
water-binding capacity.
Pectin is found in fruit especially apples and citrus fruit and it helps slow down nutrient
absorption in the intestine.
Lignin is the only component of fibre that escapes digestion, even by bowel bacteria and is
found in cereals and old woody vegetables.
WHAT DOES FIBRE DO? In our mouth, saliva increases food’s digestibility. Protein,
carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins are absorbed from the stomach to the small intestine,
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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER IN THE NEW
MILLENIUM? - FIBRE
and then lastly fat is absorbed. The remaining food residue is passed to the large intestine or
colon. Normal bacteria feed on the hemicellulose fibre and the more the bacteria multiply, the
more faeces we produce. The fibre also soaks up liquid wastes from the colon and makes
the faeces softer, bulkier and easier to remove from the body.
HOW MUCH FIBRE SHOULD WE EAT? Our early ancestors did not have processed food so
their diets were higher in fibre. Archive footage of African Villagers is shown and explains
how these people who have high fibre diets suffer very few diseases of affluence. Average
villagers eat about 80g which is 4 times the fibre consumed by average western people who
consequently pass only about 100g faeces daily compared to the villagers 450g. Dieticians
recommend we eat at least 30g fibre daily instead of the average 20g.
The more fibre we eat the faster it passes through the body – food passes through the body in
about 24 hours if the dietary fibre is adequate. If the diet is low in fibre constipation is likely
because the bacteria in the bowel do not multiply and the faeces, resulting are small, hard
and dry, because they soak up less liquid. Constipation can lead to other causes of
discomfort such as hiatus hernia, varicose veins and haemorrhoids, so eating fibre rich foods
can lessen these.
HEALTH RISKS FROM A LOW FIBRE DIET
Cancer of the Colon – it is thought that a high fibre diet, by helping the body dispose of waste
products faster, reduces risk of cancer.
Diabetes – high fibre diets tend to even out fluctuations in blood sugar because it slows down
absorption of nutrients. Also high fibre foods require more chewing and create a feeling of
fullness, which can aid weight loss and improve diabetic control.
Heart Disease – some types of fibre have been found to lower high blood cholesterol levels,
which is sometimes associated with heart disease.
Obesity – is linked to high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease, so dietary fibre foods,
because they are generally low in energy rich fats, help prevent obesity. 150g of chocolate,
340g of bread and 1000g of potato all have the same amount of energy in them. Foods high
in fat and sugar do not make us feel as full as high fibre foods. Notably fibre has no kilojoules
so does not provide energy.
HOW DO WE GET MORE FIBRE IN OUR DIETS?
The Healthy Eating Pyramid, which shows the foods we should eat most of – fruit, vegetables
and cereals, is a guide.
Mischa is shown with a low fibre breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks totaling 9g of fibre, and
then is shown with a high fibre menu for one day containing about 40g of fibre.
Cooking foods does not reduce their fibre content, but cooking does make some foods more
palatable and digestible. Much of the fibre is in the skins of fruit and vegetables.
Mischa looks at breakfast cereal labels for fibre content (and notes that some have up to 50%
sugar). Coco Pops contain .6g fibre in every 100g, while Vitabrits have 12g per 100g.
Mischa mixes himself an interesting breakfast food (fresh muesli) containing apple, oats,
sultanas, banana, strawberry, and skim milk. Mischa is also told that porridge is a very good
high fibre breakfast food.
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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER IN THE NEW
MILLENIUM? - FIBRE
STUDENT WORKSHEET:
DIETARY FIBRE
1. The following diseases and conditions: colon cancer, coronary heart disease, diabetes,
diverticulitis, high cholesterol and obesity are commonly called the “diseases of
_______________”.
2. Which parts of plants is the fibre?
_______________________________________________________________________
3. Why are lettuce leaves easier to tear than cabbage leaves?
_______________________________________________________________________
4. Milk and oranges both contain approximately the same amount of water. Explain why
you can drink milk and not whole peeled oranges.
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
5. Starches and sugars are called ________________ carbohydrates.
6. Cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin that pass through the body undigested are called
__________________ carbohydrates.
7. What multiplies and feeds on the hemicellulose in our colon or large intestine?
_______________________________________________________________________
8. What does the fibre soak up from the colon so that the faeces are softer, bulkier and
easier to expel from our bodies?
_______________________________________________________________________
9. Why did our very early hunter and gatherer ancestors have diets high in fibre?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
10. How many grams of fibre should we aim to eat daily?
_____________________
11. If dietary fibre in your diet is adequate, about how long from the time of eating does it take
for food waste to pass from the body?
_____________________
12. When constipation occurs why are the faeces small, hard and dry?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER IN THE NEW
MILLENIUM? - FIBRE
13. Why is it that a high fibre diet may reduce the risk of colon cancer?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
14. How can a high fibre diet assist a person with diabetes?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
15. Why does a high fibre diet lessen the risk of becoming obese?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
16. What foods can people eat more of to increase the fibre content of the diet?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
17. What does cooking do to the fibre present in foods?
_______________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
18. How many grams of dietary fibre does 100g of the following contain?
Coco Pops _________________ Vitabrits _____________________
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GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER IN THE NEW
MILLENIUM? - FIBRE
OTHER SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES FOR STUDENTS
1. Using dietary food tables, such as The Nutritional Values of Australian Foods, design a
table or bar graph that depicts the dietary fibre content of 8 different breakfast cereals.
Ensure that you give the table a name and clearly label the side and base of the
table/graph.
2. Do as above (1.) only compare a range of fruit and vegetables
3. Using the food tables, find and write down 10 very different foods that have no fibre at all.
4. Using your artistic talents or a computer, plan and present on a plain piece of A4 paper, a
tasty one day high fibre diet suitable for a teenager, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and
snacks.
5. Prepare an attractive three-fold leaflet from A4 paper that would help educate people
about dietary fibre. It should be attractively presented, easy to read with the most
important facts about fibre, and be suitable to be published and left in a Health Clinic or
Doctors’ waiting room.
Other Relevant VEA Material
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner –Sugar/Salt/Fat
Five Common Food Myths
Five More Common Food Myths
Nutrition Through the Lifespan (5 part series)
Food Machine Series (12 part series)
Changing the Australian Diet
The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
Good Enough to Eat: A Closer Look at Genetically Modified Foods
For details on many other programs, see our 2000 Catalogue in your school or ring us on
1800 034 282
Our VEA Multimedia Education Department welcomes your observations and
comments.
Please feel free to address your correspondence to:
VEA 111A MITCHELL STREET
BENDIGO VIC 3550
OR CALL 1800 034 282
FAX (03) 5441 1148
NEW ZEALAND
CALL 0800 486 688
FAX 0800 486 668
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