The role of polydextrose in milk powder

Polydextrose is a type of dietary fiber and is also found in milk powder because it has many benefits to the human body. Polydextrose can enhance bowel movements, reduce intestinal cancer, and is a low-calorie substance that promotes nutrient absorption. Many parents are worried about the presence of substances such as polydextrose in milk powder. They don’t know whether it is a good thing or a bad thing, so they still need to learn more about it.

Polydextrose is a new type of water-soluble dietary fiber. It has been approved as a health food ingredient in more than 50 countries. It is widely used in the manufacture of fortified fiber foods and has the function of keeping the gastrointestinal tract unobstructed after consumption. In addition to the unique effects of insoluble dietary fiber such as significantly increasing stool volume, enhancing laxative effects, and reducing the risk of intestinal cancer, polydextrose also has functions that insoluble dietary fiber does not have or is not obvious, such as combining with the removal of bile acid in the body, significantly lowering serum cholesterol, more easily inducing a feeling of fullness, and significantly lowering blood sugar levels after meals.

(1) Low in calories

Polydextrose is a product of random polymerization with many types of glycosidic bonds, complex molecular structure, and is difficult to biodegrade. [3]

Polydextrose is not absorbed when passing through the stomach and small intestine. About 30% is fermented by microorganisms in the large intestine to produce volatile fatty acids and CO2, and about 60% is excreted in the feces. The calories generated are only 25% of sucrose and 11% of fat. Since polydextrose has very low caloric value, it is rarely converted into fat and will not cause obesity.

(2) Adjust gastrointestinal function and promote the absorption of nutrients

Since dietary fiber helps balance the digestive tract, consuming a high-fiber diet is key to maintaining a healthy digestive tract.

As a water-soluble dietary fiber, polydextrose can shorten the time it takes for food to be empty in the stomach, promote the secretion of digestive juices, and facilitate the absorption and digestion of nutrients. It can shorten the time it takes for contents (feces) to pass through the intestines, reduce the pressure in the colon, reduce the contact time between harmful substances in the intestine and the intestinal wall, promote intestinal motility, and enhance the osmotic pressure of the colon, thereby diluting the concentration of harmful substances in the gastrointestinal tract and promoting their excretion from the body.

Therefore, polydextrose can effectively improve intestinal function, promote defecation, eliminate constipation, prevent hemorrhoids, alleviate poisoning and diarrhea caused by harmful substances, improve intestinal flora and assist in inhibiting cancer.

(3) Prebiotics that regulate the balance of intestinal flora

Polydextrose is an effective prebiotic. After being ingested by the human body, it is not digested in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract, but is fermented in the lower part of the gastrointestinal tract, which is beneficial to the reproduction of beneficial intestinal bacteria (Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus) and inhibits harmful bacteria such as Clostridium and Bacteroides. Polydextrose is fermented by beneficial bacteria to produce short-chain fatty acids such as butyric acid, which lowers the pH of the intestine, helps fight infection, and reduces the risk of cancer. Thus, polydextrose can provide food formulators with a prebiotic ingredient that may benefit digestive tract health.

(4) Reduce blood sugar response

Polydextrose can improve the sensitivity of peripheral tissues to insulin, reduce the demand for insulin, inhibit the secretion of insulin, hinder the absorption of sugar, and polydextrose itself is not absorbed, thereby achieving the purpose of lowering blood sugar levels. It is very suitable for consumption by diabetic patients. The relative blood sugar response of polydextrose is only 5-7, while that of glucose is 100.

(5) Promote the absorption of mineral elements

Adding polydextrose to the diet can promote intestinal absorption of calcium, probably because polydextrose is fermented in the intestine to produce short-chain fatty acids that acidify the intestinal environment, and the acidified environment increases calcium absorption. Studies have shown that as the concentration of polydextrose increases from 0 to 100 mmol/L, the calcium absorption in the jejunum, ileum, cecum, and large intestine of mice shows an increasing trend.