Low Fibre Diet Sheet

Please note, this page is printable by selecting the normal print options on your computer.

This document will provide you with information on a low fibre diet.

You have been advised to go on a low fibre diet two days before taking the bowel preparation required for your procedure (Flexible Sigmoidoscopy/ Colonoscopy).

A low fibre diet will leave less ‘residue’ or ‘bulk’ behind after digestion. It will be easier for your body to digest and to help clearing your bowels once you start taking the bowel preparation (laxative).

The following table lists the foods that are suitable or unsuitable on a low fibre diet.

  Suitable Foods / Foods Allowed Unsuitable foods / Foods to Avoid
Breakfast cereals and Bread ·       Rice Krispies®, Coco Pops®, Corn Flakes, Special K®

·       White bread/rolls/toast/bagels

·       White English muffins

·       White pitta bread, plain Naan/chapatti

·       Plain scones

·       Plain crackers without seeds e.g cream crackers, rich tea biscuits, water biscuits

 ·       Bran flakes®, Weetabix®, Shredded Wheat®, All Bran®, Porridge, Muesli, oat bran, wheat germ

·       Brown, seeded, or granary versions of bread//toast, rolls, bagels, pitta bread, naan/chapatti, crackers, rye bread.

·       Scones, muffins, and pastries containing fruit or nuts.

·       Crackers with seeds, Ryvita
Flour, pasta and rice ·       White rice, white pasta

·       White flour, cornflour, sago, tapioca, semolina

·       Plain couscous, polenta, tortillas, tacos

·       Rice Noodles

 ·       Brown varieties of rice, pasta

·       Wild rice, quinoa, pearl barley

·       Wholemeal couscous, noodles

 
Meat, fish, eggs and alternatives ·       Plain meat e.g. chicken, turkey, beef, lamb, pork

·       Plain fish e.g. white fish, salmon, tinned/fresh tuna

·       Eggs, tofu

 ·       Tough meat/skin, stringy, large amounts of fat, gristly meat e.g. bacon, sausages with skin

·       Fish skin, fish bones e.g. tinned sardines, anchovies

·       Meat alternatives e.g. Quorn®

 
Vegetables ·       Peeled, well cooked ‘flesh’ or ‘body’ of vegetables e.g. carrots, swede, turnip

·       Cauliflower/broccoli heads (no stalks)

·       Sieved/smooth soup (no chunks)

·       Pealed potato and sweet potato, or mashed potato. Inside of a jacket potato (no skin)

·       Smooth vegetable juices

 

 ·       Raw vegetables, salad, coleslaw, salsa etc

·       Chunky soup

·       Tough, fibrous, stringy veg e.g. cabbage, kale, greens, fennel, sprouts, sweetcorn, mushrooms, peas, beans, okra, asparagus, celery, runner beans

·       Vegetables juices with ‘bits’ or pulp

·       Beans and pluses e.g. baked beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, butter beans, lentils
Fruit

 

 

 ·       Peeled body of fruit without skins, pith, pips or seeds e.g. peeled pear, apple, peach, melon with no seeds/skin

·       Tinned pears or peaches

·       Smooth fruit juice with no ‘bits’ or pulp

·       Ripe bananas

 

 

 ·       Skin, pith, stalks, seeds, pips within fruit e.g. pineapple, oranges, clementines, cherries, grapes, raspberries, watermelon, blueberries, strawberries, kiwi

·       All dried fruit e.g. cranberries, prunes

·       Fruit juice with ‘bits’ or pulp

·       Fruit smoothies
Milk and dairy products ·       All milk and milk alternatives

·       Cheese

·       Cream, crème fraiche, custard, ice cream, smooth milk puddings

·       Fromage fraise and yoghurt without fruit/bits

 ·       Yoghurt with fruit, nuts, or cereals
Other ·       Seedless and rindless jam (not red coloured), marmalade, honey, syrup

·       Potato crisps

·       Boiled sweets, jelly (not red coloured)

·       Plain, milk or white chocolate

·       Smooth sauces e.g. gravy, ketchup, brown sauce, mayonnaise, salad cream, white sauce

 ·       Jam or marmalade containing seeds or rind

·       Chutney, pickles, relish

·       Wholegrain mustard

·       Popcorn, wholegrain crackers

·       Chocolate with fruit or nuts

·       All nuts and seeds

 

Here are some suggested sample menus:

Breakfast

  • Smooth fruit juice (without bits/pith)
  • Corn Flakes/Rice Krispies with milk/sugar
  • White bread or toast with butter/seedless jam/no peel
  • Marmalade/syrup/honey/marmite

Lunch/Dinner

  • Meat (no visible fat/gristle/skin)/fish (no bones) /egg/cheese
  • Mashed/boiled/no skin jacket potato or white pasta/rice
  • Well cooked vegetables e.g. carrots/swede, broccoli/cauliflower florets
  • Sandwiches made with white bread/pitta and suitable filling
  • Plain sponge and custard/milk pudding/mousse/stewed apple and custard/ice-cream (all with no dried fruit or nuts)

Snacks

  • White toast/bread or white crackers or jacket potato (no skin) with butter/tuna/mayonnaise/cheese/egg
  • Plain scone with butter/seedless jam (not red)
  • Plain sponge cake
  • Crackers and cheese
  • Smooth yoghurt
  • Tinned/stewed fruit without seeds, skin, pith
  • Plain/chocolate biscuit e.g. Rich Tea, wafer
  • Mousse/milk pudding/ice-cream
  • Tea/coffee/hot chocolate/Horlicks/Ovaltine.