What exactly is dietary fiber

Nowadays, people's living standards have greatly improved, and they are very particular about diet. I believe many people know that dietary fiber has many health benefits to the body. It can help with weight loss, laxatives, lowering blood pressure, and even prevent cancer. If you can maintain the structure of dietary fiber in your daily diet, the effect will be even better. So, what exactly is dietary fiber? Let’s take a closer look at it below.

Dietary fiber is a polysaccharide that can neither be digested and absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract nor produce energy. Therefore, it was once considered a "non-nutritious substance" and did not receive enough attention for a long time.

However, with the in-depth development of nutrition and related sciences, people have gradually discovered that dietary fiber has quite important physiological effects. As dietary composition becomes increasingly sophisticated today, dietary fiber has become a substance of concern to both academics and ordinary people, and has been identified by the nutrition community as the seventh type of nutrient, alongside the traditional six types of nutrients - protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water.

(I) Classification and function

Dietary fiber can be divided into two categories based on whether it dissolves in water:

Dietary fiber = soluble dietary fiber + insoluble dietary fiber, "soluble and insoluble have different functions."

1. Soluble dietary fiber

Derived from pectin, alginate, konjac, etc. Konjac is produced in abundance in Sichuan and other places in my country. Its main ingredient is glucomannan, a soluble dietary fiber with very low energy and strong water absorption. Many studies have shown that konjac has the effect of lowering blood lipids and blood sugar and has a good laxative effect; soluble fiber is intertwined with carbohydrates such as starch in the gastrointestinal tract and delays the absorption of the latter, so it can play a role in lowering blood sugar after meals;

2. Insoluble dietary fiber

The best sources are whole grains, including bran, oatmeal, whole wheat flour and brown rice, oatmeal, whole grains, beans, vegetables and fruits. The effect of insoluble fiber on the human body is first to promote gastrointestinal motility, speed up the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, and reduce absorption. In addition, insoluble fiber absorbs water in the large intestine to soften the stool, which can play a role in preventing and treating constipation.

3. Dietary fiber

If we combine the above two, the effects of dietary fiber can be listed in a long list:

(1) Anti-diarrhea effect, such as gum and pectin;

(2) Prevent certain cancers, such as colon cancer;

(3) Treat constipation;

(4) Detoxification;

(5) Prevention and treatment of intestinal diverticular disease;

(6) Treatment of cholelithiasis;

(7) Lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides;

(8) Control weight, etc.;

(9) Reduce blood sugar in adult diabetic patients.

2. Insufficient dietary fiber and disease

The diet of our people has always been mainly cereal-based, supplemented with vegetables and fruits, so there is no risk of dietary fiber deficiency. However, with the improvement of living standards, food has become more and more refined, and the proportion of animal food has greatly increased. The heat-producing ratio of dietary fat in some large city residents has increased from 20% to 25% decades ago to 40% to 45% at present, while the intake of dietary fiber has decreased significantly. It is said that "life is getting better, but fiber is getting less." This has led to an increasing incidence of some so-called "modern civilization diseases", such as obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and some diseases related to too little dietary fiber, such as colon cancer, constipation, intestinal polyps, etc.

I think everyone should have a clear understanding of what dietary fiber is. Dietary fiber has many functions for people, which were discovered through continuous research on food nutrition. After we have a clear understanding of this thing, we should pay more attention to it in our daily life and try to absorb enough nutrition to ensure our health.