Low Fibre / Low Residue Diet Advice
This leaflet explains what a low fibre diet (also called a low residue diet) means. It also lists the foods allowed and those to avoid. If you need further advice, please ask your dietitian or healthcare team.
Why should I follow a low fibre diet?
You may have been advised to have a low fibre diet because:
- Your bowel has become narrowed/partly blocked or
- To limit bowel symptoms.
How long will I need to follow a low fibre diet?
You will probably only need to follow this diet for a short time. Usually you can stop the low fibre diet once your bowel symptoms are better or the blockage in your bowel has been treated.
The clinician who told you that you need the low fibre diet should tell you how long for; if they did not, please contact them and ask. If you are advised to say on the low fibre diet long term, please ask for advice from a dietitian.
What is a low fibre diet?
A low fibre diet is a diet with very little fibre (also called roughage). You must not eat foods that are high in fibre, including some fruit, vegetables, pulses and wholemeal cereal foods.
Low fibre foods have less than 3g of fibre per 100g. This information can be found on the product’s nutritional label. Fibre is indigestible and provides bulk to your stool. A low fibre diet may also help symptoms such as bloating, gut pain and diarrhoea.
Which foods can I eat and what should I avoid?
This section lists the foods which are low fibre in the ‘foods allowed’ boxes. It also lists foods that are high in fibre in the ‘foods to avoid’ boxes.
Cereal foods, breakfast cereals and biscuits
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| White flour and white bread, crumpets, rolls, chapatti, poppadum’s White pasta, noodles (spaghetti, macaroni) White rice Couscous Sago Tapioca Rice Krispies, Coco Pops, Corn Flakes, Frosties, Special K, Sugar Puffs Rich Tea, Marie, shortbread, Jaffa cakes, custard creams Wafers Cream crackers, water biscuits White flour crispbread, breadsticks | Wholemeal, brown and soya flours All other breads, including white high fibre (Best of Both, 50:50) Wholemeal pasta Brown rice Wholegrain cereals (Shredded Wheat, Weetabix), All Bran, Bran Flakes, porridge, muesli and any cereal with added fruit or nuts Any biscuits containing fruit or nuts Wholemeal biscuits, Digestives, Hob-Nobs, flapjack, oatcakes, fig rolls Rye and wholegrain crispbreads, Hovis crackers |
Dairy products and eggs
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Milk Cheese Yogurt and fromage frais (without bits) Probiotic drinks Butter and margarine Cream Eggs Dairy alternatives | Cheese containing fruit or nuts Yogurt containing fruit, nuts, muesli |
Vegetables
Always peel vegetables, remove seeds and stalks and cook vegetables until soft.
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Aubergine, beetroot, carrot, courgette, marrow, onion, peppers, radish, swede, tomatoes, cauliflower and broccoli florets, parsnips, baby spinach Garlic (a small amount in cooking) All potatoes Avocado, peeled cucumber, dark green salad leaves | All peas, beans and lentils Celery, leeks, asparagus, spring onion, mushrooms Beansprouts, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mange-touts Sweetcorn Potato skins |
Fruit
Always peel fruit and avoid all pith and seeds.
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Apples, apricots, bananas, fruit cocktail, lychees, melon, nectarine, peaches, pears, plums Small amounts seedless grapes, cherries, strawberries Limit amounts of clementines, oranges, grapefruit, satsumas, tangerines and eat with caution due to the skin around each segment | All dried fruit, including banana chips Blackberries, blackcurrants, coconut, cranberries, figs, gooseberries, guava, kiwi, loganberries, mango, passion fruit, pineapple, raspberries, redcurrants, rhubarb |
Meat, fish and poultry
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| All meat, fish, poultry Tofu | Gristly, tough meat Fish bones (should be removed) Quorn/Soya mince or meat pieces |
Cakes and puddings
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Cakes made with white flour (Victoria sponge, chocolate sponge, Madeira cake) Plain and cheese scones Pancakes, custard tart, eclairs, meringue Ice-cream, jelly, sorbet, instant whip, crème brûlée, custard | Cakes made with wholemeal flour, fruit or nuts (fruit loaf, malt loaf) |
Condiments
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Honey, syrup, treacle, lemon curd, jam, marmalade (not containing bits) Ketchup, mayo, brown sauce, salad cream Salt, pepper, vinegar, herbs and spices Bovril, Marmite Stock cubes | Jam and marmalade containing bits Pickles, chutneys |
Miscellaneous
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Crisps, Snack-a-Jacks, pretzels Smooth peanut butter | Popcorn, nuts, seeds, tropical mix, Bombay mix Crunchy peanut butter |
Confectionery
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Chocolate, fudge, toffee Boiled sweets, peppermints Fruit gums and pastilles Marshmallows, Turkish Delight (without nuts) | Any sweets containing nuts or fruit |
Drinks
| Foods allowed | Foods to avoid |
| Tea, coffee, chocolate, squash, fizzy drinks, alcoholic drinks All fruit juice not containing bits Supplement drinks: Aymes, Complan, Ensure, Fortisip, Fresubin, Meritne Scandishake, Ensure | Vegetable juice drinks and fruit smoothie drinks Fruit juice containing bits Supplement drinks containing fibre eg Meritene soup, Fortisip Compact Fibre |
What about vitamin and mineral supplements?
If you follow a low fibre diet for more than a month, it may be helpful to take a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement every day. This is because many high fibre foods that you have to avoid are good sources of vitamins and minerals, which your body needs to keep healthy.
Most supermarkets, chemists and health food shops sell one-a-day A-Z multi-vitamin and mineral supplements, which is what you will need.
Contact details
We hope that you have found this information useful. If you have any questions, or are worried about anything, please speak to the following Dorset County Hospital Staff:
Dietitian’s Department: 01305 254415 or email dietetic.secretary@dchft.nhs.uk
About this leaflet
Author: Ashley Davis, Dietitian
Written: November 2016
Updated by: Persephone Scotcher, Dietetic Assistant and Katy Brown, Locum Dietitian January 2021
Approved: March 2022
Review date: March 2025
Edition: v3
If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk
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