Inulin in chicory root fiber

Inulin is a type of fiber that's found in certain plant foods. Chicory root is the main source of inulin in supplement form. Fresh chicory root is composed of 68% inulin by dry weight.

The plant is part of the dandelion family, and the root has been cultivated since ancient Egyptian times. Chicory was originally found in Europe and Asia. Egyptians grew it thousands of years ago as a medicine.

Inulin is a type of fiber known as a fructan or fructooligosaccharide, a carbohydrate made from a short chain of fructose molecules that human body doesn’t digest. Like other fructans, it is a prebiotic, meaning that it feeds the good bacteria in the gut.

Research has linked it to several health benefits. These helpful bacteria play a role in:
*Help increase the amount of calcium and other minerals absorb from food
*Support a healthy immune system
*Relieve intestinal problems

Like all fibers, dietary inulin is not digested in the small intestine but instead travels intact onto to the colon (large intestine), making it fodder for the resident gut bacteria and contributing to the bulk of the stools.

In a study in 16 people with low stool frequency, taking a daily dose of 10 grams of chicory inulin increased the number of bowel movements from 4 to 5 per week, on average (Food Hydrocolloids Volume 96, November 2019).

The gut bacteria convert inulin and other prebiotics into short-chain fatty acids, which nourish colon cells and provide various other health benefits.

Taking inulin also led to significant decreases in blood sugar levels and hemoglobin A1c, a measurement of average blood sugar, compared with taking a placebo (Diabetes Metab J. 2013 Apr; 37(2)).

Since the 19th century, chicory root has been combined with coffee — a variety that became exceedingly popular in New Orleans. Today, the ingredient has been added to processed foods such as protein bars, cereal bars, yogurts and other milk products, drinks, baked goods, desserts and even protein powder in the form of inulin.
Inulin in chicory root fiber

Barley: Rich source of dietary fiber

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is the fourth most important cereal crop, after maize, wheat and rice. Barley has been cultivated for at least 8,000 years. It is believed by most, though not all archeologists to have been first cultivated in the Fertile Crescent, an area that includes parts or all of what is presently Iraq, Iran, Israel, Syria and Turkey.

Barley is known to be a rich source of ß-glucan soluble fibre. While most other grains have lower fiber in the endosperm than the whole grain, the soluble ß-glucan in barley endosperm is comparable to that of whole grain. Whole barley grain consists 4% to 9% B-glucan.

There is strong evidence that barley β-glucans can lower blood cholesterol levels, thereby reducing the risk of coronary heart disease. Both Canada and the U.S. allow manufacturers to make a heart-health claim for foods containing barley. Fiber content Β-glucan also has been shown related to weight reduction, decreasing blood pressure, and blood glucose in Type 2 diabetes and preventing colon cancer.

Besides its high level of β-glucan soluble fibre, barley is an excellent source of insoluble fibre important in maintaining digestive health and also protecting against colon cancer.

Total dietary fiber ranges from 11% to 34% and soluble dietary fiber from 3% to 20%. Hull-less or de-hulled barley grain contains 11% to 20% total dietary fiber, 11% to 14% insoluble dietary fiber and 3% to 10% soluble dietary fiber.
Barley: Rich source of dietary fiber 

Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan

Several soluble polysaccharides have been shown to have cholesterol-lowering properties and to have a role in prevention of heart disease. Oats provide one of the richest sources of the dietary soluble fiber β -glucan, providing 5.0 g (oatmeal) to 7.2g (oat bran) per 100 g serving. Both are also valuable sources of total dietary fiber, which ranges from 9.9-14.9 g per 100 g serving. Oats have recently gained considerable interest as a rich source of β -glucan with cholesterol-lowering properties.

 In March 1995, the Quaker Oats company submitted a petition to the FDA stating that consumption of whole oat products (oats, oat bran, and oat flour) decreases total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol concentrations and reduces the risk of CHD.

In February 2003 Creanutrition and its parent company Swedish Oat Fiber submitted a scientific dossier for oat β -glucan and blood cholesterol to the JHCI in the United Kingdom. In May 2004, the JHCI approved a generic health claim for oat β -glucan and blood cholesterol based on the totality of the evidence. The health claim states that the inclusion of at least 3 g/day of oat β-glucan as part of a diet low in saturated fat and a healthy lifestyle can help reduce blood cholesterol.

The benefits for lowering lipids with oats and oat-based products have been reported in animal and human studies. Oat gum soluble fibre has been reported to exert a greater hypocholesterolaemic effect than several other fibers tested and found to be similar to that of cholestyramine.

According to the study, soluble fiber from oat products, psyllium, pectin, and guar gum each significantly lowered total cholesterol. One gram of soluble fiber from oats, psyllium, pectin, or guar gum produced changes in total cholesterol of -0.037, -0.028, -0.070, and -0.026 mmol/L (-1.42, -1.10, -2.69, and -1.13mg/dL), respectively, and in LDL cholesterol of -0.032, -0.029, -0.055, and -0.033 mmol/L (-1.23, -1.11, -1.96, and -1.20 mg/dL), respectively. (The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 69, Issue 1, 1 January 1999, Pages 30–42).

 A number of studies indicate that β -glucan is the major active cholesterol-reducing component of oats. When β -glucans are fed in a dose-dependent manner, significantly greater reductions in blood cholesterol are observed as β -glucan content increases. Furthermore, treatment of oats with enzymes that destroy β -glucan results in a loss of cholesterol-lowering potential of oats.
Cholesterol-lowering effects of oat β-glucan

Pectin can help lowering serum cholesterol

Pectin is a polymer of galacturonic acid linked by α-1-4 bonds and methoxylated to a varying extent at the carboxyl moieties. Other sugars, acetyl groups and calcium ions are present as additional constituents.

In the human diet, pectin occurs as a “soluble fiber” in fruit and vegetables, jams and jellies, and more recently in low-calorie foods as a fat replacer. Pectin is a complex polysaccharide present in plant cell walls, extracted commercially from pulp waste during fruit juice pressing (for example, from citrus peel and apple pomace).

Pectins are believed to lower the levels of serum cholesterol by binding with bile acids and causing removal of cholesterol in the feces.

Sequestrants of bile acids and neutral sterols disturb cholesterol homeostasis in humans and in different experimental animals.

In 2010, the Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) published its Scientific Opinion on substantiation of health claims related to pectin, including cholesterol lowering and effects on glycemia. For cholesterol lowering (maintenance of normal blood cholesterol concentrations), a cause-and-effect relationship was established with 6 g pectin in > servings.
Pectin can help lowering serum cholesterol

The importance of rye to human health

Rye is a cereal grain with a strong, unique flavor and visual characteristics similar to that of wheat, but more length & slimness; the color of the cereal varies from yellow-brown to green to gray. Rye (Secale cereal L.) is a traditional, although not very widely used, raw material for baking. It is used in bread loves often flavored with caraway seeds.

Statistics show that cereals have become very popular among population in recent years, which has only positive effects upon people's health. But people should become aware of the fact that underestimated whole grains such as rye has multiple health benefits, too.

Rye flour is good for those watching their intake of food, because it expands in the stomach, giving a feeling or fullness so to eat less. It is also good for energy and endurance. Rye is a good source of dietary fiber, phenolic compounds, vitamins, trace elements and minerals, as it is generally consumed as whole grain products. Primary due to its high fiber content, rye can prevent spikes in diabetic’s blood sugar level and reduce the symptoms of people with irritable bowel syndrome.

Especially it its sprouted form, rye is rich in vitamin E, phosphorus, magnesium and silicon. Rye lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases like heart failure.

Rye can lower cholesterol level and optimizing heart health by controlling the blood pressure. Rye also are highly effective in reducing mammary tumors and slowing the growth of cancers cells in the breast and colon.

Finnish studies have clearly shown the benefit by reduction of colon cancer risk of rye’s ability to provide extra soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as its function of encouraging colonic butyric acid production.
The importance of rye to human health

Water soluble fiber

Soluble fiber is found dissolved in water inside plant cells. Like insoluble fiber, it is not digested and does not provide energy, although it may be consumed by bacteria that live in the digestive tract.

In water soluble fiber forms a gel-like substance. This gel absorbs water and helps to keep the stool soft. Soluble fibers include pectin, found in fruits, and gums, found in some grains and legumes.

Oat bran supplies a water-soluble form of fiber called beta glucan. Like cellulose, oat fiber is polysaccharides composed of glucose units. Because of the manner in which the glucose units are joined, the carbohydrate chain is not digestible.

Soluble fiber reduces the rate of glucose absorption and insulin presence after a meal, thus increasing glucose tolerance. Soluble fiber creates a viscous material that helps promote satiety or the feeling of fullness after a meal, lowers blood cholesterol, and also slows down the absorption of blood glucose, providing longer lasting energy.
Water soluble fiber

Fiber-rich papaya

Native to Central and South America, papaya is available year around and packed with fiber and other nutrients.

The flesh of papaya is soft and easy to digest and is packed with a good amount of dietary fiber. Statistically one medium papaya would contain approximately 5 grams of fiber.

The fiber in papaya converts a substance called homocysteine into harmless amino acids that the body can process, but without the breakdown, homocysteine can eventually damage blood vessels walls, causing strokes or heart attacks.

Other effects of dietary fiber consumption are reduction in blood cholesterol levels and decreased risk of developing cancer. Fiber travels though the body and binds itself to cancer-causing toxin in the colon.

The fiber in papaya flushes out the toxins in the colon and so one of the benefits of papaya is that it helps prevent colon cancer especially, due to antioxidants and its fiber content.
Fiber-rich papaya

Insoluble fiber

Many scientists have found it useful lot distinguish two of dietary fiber: soluble and insoluble. It is important because the two types of fiber have different effects on the human body.

Plant cell walls that do not dissolve in water are collectively referred to as insoluble dietary fiber.

These components are cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. Cellulose is a non-digestible form of fiber which is found in the outer portions of vegetable and fruits. It is usually found in their crunchy, woody, stems, stalks and peels.

This kind of fiber is a natural laxative. It absorbs, water helps the person feel full after eating and stimulates intestine walls to contract and relax.

Foods high in insoluble fiber are wheat, whole grains, brown rice, cereals, seeds, and the skin of many fruits and vegetables.

Insoluble fiber is found in large amounts in wheat bran and corn bran. Cold bran cereals have more insoluble fiber that hot cereals.

Bran contains cellulose and other cell wall materials and slows the rise in blood sugar after a meal. Bran can protect against heart disease in middle aged men.

Insoluble fiber is incredibly absorbent. It can soak up many times its weight in water as it passes through the intestines.
Insoluble fiber

Functional fiber in food

Dietary fiber was recognized as an important food component in the mid- 1970s.

Today soluble fiber and insoluble fibers may extracted or in some cases, manufactured in laboratories and added as an ingredient to create foods that contain what is now call ‘functional fiber’. It can also be synthetically manufactured.

According to the US Institute of Medicine’s definition functional fiber ‘consists of isolated, purified non-digestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological effects in humans’.

Non-digestible means not digested and absorbed in the human small intestine.

Fibers identified as potential functional fibers by the Institute include:
*Isolated fiber
*B-glucan
*Psyllium
*Chitin and chitosan
*Fructooligosaccharides
*Polydextrose and polyols
*Resistant dextrins

Functional fibers are not essential nutrient therefore inadequate intakes do not result in biochemical or clinical symptoms of a deficiency.

Functional fiber can increase the total fiber content of certain food, which is turn provides health benefits. 

Functional fibers performs specific, beneficial functions in the body, including decreasing food intake by providing a feeling of fullness, reducing postmeal rises in blood glucose elevsl, preventing constipation and decreasing fat and cholesterol absorption.
Functional fiber in food

The benefits of Insoluble fiber

Fibers can be breakdown according to whether they insoluble or water soluble. Insoluble fiber includes cellulose and lignin.

Insoluble fiber appeases the appetite, reduced bacterial toxins, speeds the elimination of waste, absorbs toxins, softens stools, and improves bowel disorders.

Insoluble fiber holds water in the colon, thereby increasing bulk and stimulating the muscles of the digestive tract so that they retain their health and tone.

The toned muscles can more easily move waste products though the colon for excretion.

When consumed with sufficient amount of fluid, insoluble fiber can help prevent and alleviate constipation. 

However, consuming immoderate amounts of insoluble fiber may decrease the absorption of certain minerals, such as irons, calcium, and magnesium.

Foods high in insoluble fiber are wheat, whole grains, brown rice, cereals, seeds, and the skin of many fruits and vegetables.

Bran is a common and inexpensive source of insoluble fiber. Cold bran cereals have more insoluble fiber that hot cereals.
The benefits of Insoluble fiber

Definition of soluble fiber

Soluble fiber is the type of indigestible plant carbohydrate that dissolves in water and turns into a thick gel during digestion. Apple for example contains 80 calories but impressive 5 grams of fiber, is an excellent source of a particular soluble fiber called pectin.

Soluble fiber classification is including gums, mucilages, pectin, and some hemicellulose.

Both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber can be degraded by intestinal bacteria, but soluble fiber is more easily, rapidly and completely fermented than insoluble.

Soluble fiber’s gummy texture also may interfere with carbohydrate and glucose absorption in the intestine, leading blood sugar and insulin.

The unique of soluble fiber is its molecular affinity to bind fat and cholesterol and thus promote heart health. 

Sources of soluble fiber are oats, barley, legumes and some fruits and vegetables.

The fiber in oat bran and legumes is particular effective in binding the cholesterol rich bile salts and also undigested breakdown products of fats that may have the potential for carcinogenesis.
Definition of soluble fiber

Resistant starch fiber

Resistant starch fiber is the starch fraction that is resistant to digestion in the small intestine, but which is available for bacterial fermentation in the large intestine.

Resistant starch reaches the large intestine and functions like dietary fiber there. Legumes are a primary source of resistant starch, with as much as 35% of legume starch escaping digestion.

Cooked potatoes, green bananas, pasta and rice that have been chilled also contain resistant starch. Similar to insoluble fibers, resistant starch may support a healthy colon.

Small amounts of resistant starch are produced by processing and baking of cereal and grain products. Manufactured resistant starch is increasing in the US diet.

Designer versions of resistant starches are increasingly popular additives in processed foods, such as breads, cookies and pasta, where they can be incorporated to lower the calories count, provide a high fiber claim without a high fiber taste and improve the glycemic index rating of the food for diabetics.

In the United States, resistant starch intake has been estimated at 4.9 g/day for adults, although this figure can be highly variable among individuals.

Hans Englyst in England was the first to give it the name resistant starch.
Resistant starch fiber

Fiber health benefits

Dietary fiber has been identified as an important component of a healthy diet. Whole wheat grains are good sources of dietary fiber. It consists of non-digestible carbohydrates and lignins that intact and intrinsic in plants.

Consumption of whole grain dietary fiber has been associated with reduced risk of chronic diseases. High fiber intake can reduced the risk of coronary heart disease.

Eating foods with high in fiber will help reduce energy intake thus facilitating body weight maintenance or weight loss.

Dietary fiber can be classified to soluble and insoluble. Both soluble and insoluble are essential for good health each serving different functions in the body.

For example insoluble improves intestinal health and is thought to reduce the risks of certain cancers. The study showed that people who ate the most dietary fiber (35 gm per day) reduced their risk of colon cancer by 40% compared with those who ate the least fiber (15 gm per day).

While soluble fiber lowers blood cholesterol and may reduce the risk of heart disease. Both types of fiber can help with weight control. In the stomach they convey a feeling of fullness because they absorb water and some of them delay the emptying of stomach so that the person feel full longer.

 Lack of dietary fiber is not only a cause of such gastrointestinal problems as diverticulitis and constipation – it is also implicated in high blood pressure and heart disease, and in obesity and obesity related diabetes.
Fiber health benefits

The importance of dietary fiber in human body

Nutritionally, dietary fiber has been associated with weight control, diverticulitis, duodenal ulcers, colon cancer, cholesterol reduction and diabetes mellitus.

What is dietary fiber? Dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine.

Scientists already ascertained that plant based fiber helps to prevent several disease. They found relationship between the fiber content of food and serum cholesterol of consumers.

Significant intestinal diseases can be cured and prevented with an increase on food fiber.

Dietary fiber is important for normal bowel function and may play a role in the prevention of chronic diseases such as certain cancer, coronary artery disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Adequate fiber intake is also thought to reduce serum cholesterol levels, moderate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk obesity.

By increased fiber intake it lowered the risk for coronary heart disease because saturated fats often take the place of fiber in the diet, thus increasing the absorption and formation of cholesterol.

Fiber has no nutritional value and provides no energy and human body cannot digest and absorb fiber.
The importance of dietary fiber in human body

High Fiber Oats

Oats is a good source of soluble fiber. Soluble fiber absorbs cholesterol from the blood and carries it away.

Higher fiber oats aid in food digestion and may help with the memory performance.

It helps slow digestion and absorption of foods and promotes a feeling of fullness.

It also promote a slower and more sustained release of glucose into bloodstream.

In addition, high fiber oats seem to improve insulin sensitivity by keeping blood sugars stable and reduce your risk factors of cardiovascular disease by lowering LDL cholesterol.

Beta glucan is the soluble fiber in oats. It has been shown to help lower cholesterol.

To help reduce blood cholesterol, one must consumed 3 grams a day of soluble fiber. Rolled provides 4 grams of total fiber in a cup serving. It means that 3 grams of soluble fiber from oats daily is equivalent to about 1.5 cups of cooked oatmeal.

Oatmeal or rolled oats, oat flakes are high in soluble fiber and low in gluten. Regular rolled oats are higher in fiber than instant oatmeal.

Evidence for the effectiveness of fiber in the control of other disease appears equivocal; however, populations with higher fiber intakes have a lower incidence of gastrointestinal disorders, heart disease and breast and colon cancers.
High Fiber Oats

Fibers

Fibers
Dietary fiber includes the nondigestible carbohydrates. These may be either water soluble or water insoluble. Both have nutritional significance.

The water insoluble group that includes wheat products and wheat bran is believed to reduce chances of colon cancer by increasing bulk and diluting the effect of secondary bile acids.

The water-soluble fibers such as those found in the brans of some cereals (e.g., oats and rice) and in pectin are believed to lower the levels of serum cholesterol by binding with bile acids and causing removal of cholesterol in the feces.

While claims may be made for cholesterol-level-lowering properties of brans from different grains (e.g., the bran from oats and the bran from the psyllium seed, which have much higher amounts of bran than that of other grains), the more productive course for trying to control cholesterol levels is to limit the consumption of foods that are high in cholesterol and high in fats.

The consumptions of fiber is recommended, although not to excess. It appears that excessive amounts of dietary fiber may interfere with the retention of minerals required by the body.
Fibers

Crude Fiber

Crude fiber is a measure of the quantity of indigestible cellulose, pentosans, lignin, and other components of this type in present foods.

It is the residue of plant materials remaining after solvent extraction followed by digestion with dilute acid and alkali. These components have little food value but provide the bulk necessary for proper peristaltic action in the intestinal tract.

A determination of crude fiber is used in evaluation the efficiency of milling and separating bran from the starchy endosperm. Crude fiber is also useful in the chemical determination of succulence of fresh vegetables and fruits; over mature products have increased levels of crude fiber.

Today’s accepted term for fiber is dietary fiber, but this term has only been in use since late 1970s. Before that, the primitive term crude fiber was used because fiber was not considered important to health.

Recent research into the roles of dietary fiber components has caused reevaluation of some of the traditional concepts concerning fiber. Actually, dietary fiber may be an unfortunate misnomer; a term such as non-digestible portion may be correct since this dietary component may or may not have a fibrous structure.

The non-digestible or dietary fiber fraction is a complex mixture of different substance. The major ones are cellulose, the glucose polymer that is predominant material of plant cells; hemicellulose, a shorter version of cellulose: pectin, the glue that binds plant cells together with cellulose from the woody cell walls of plants. 

Fiber offers a variety of health benefits and is essential in reducing the risk of chronic disease such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diverticulitis.

Dietary fiber acts to lower the concentration of low density lipoprotein cholesterol in the blood, possibly by binding with bile acids. The lignin fraction has been identified as the possible binding agent.

It is a known fact that fiber helps eliminate waste from the gastrointestinal tract because of its ability to bind water and thus soften the stool.
Crude Fiber