Dietary fibre: uses and benefits

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In a previous article we have already hinted at the functions of dietary fibres talking about our product Bruciagrassi.

With the words dietary fibre it is meant the set of components of plant cells that are not deteriorated by the human small intestine through the enzyme pancreatic and intestinal activities (Trowell, 1982)
In other words it is therefore considered all those not digestible substances that are ingested with the diet and come from plant cells which resist to digestion and to absorption in the upper intestinal tract but may develop fermentation due to the microflora in colon.

From these first lines you can therefore guess why fibres are used in slimming diets, both to reduce the nutrient absorption, and to facilitate intesinal transit.

Dietary fibre is made of a mix of different polisaccharides which can be water-soluble ( for example pectins, rubbers, mucilages, galactomannans) and not water-soluble (for example cellulose, emicelluloses, lignins) and it can vary in the proportion according to the source from which it comes from.
According to these different characteristics both physical and chemical, the connected effects can vary too.

Dietary fibre is not classified as a nutrient but it exercises different activities that let it consider an important element in diet. The physiological effects of fibre are linked to its physical properties of absorbing and retaining water, increasing in this way the feces volume and weight, diminishing their consistency and acting as regulators of intestinal functions.*.

Several studies have underlined that the intake of dietary is associated with reduced plasma levels of cholesterol, low risk of coronary heart disease, increased possibility to mantain a controlled body weight, reduced blood pressure, better glycemic control (Anderson et al., 1994).
Recent studies have shown that an increase in the dietary fibre assumption can mean a preventive action in the progression of arterioslerosis (Wu et al., 2003).

It should be noted that several international guidelines besides the American society of dietology recommend its use for the maintenance of an optimal health and for the treatment and prevention of various diseases and metabolic disorders (Marlett et al., 2002).

*from: "Lines of Dietotherapy and clinical nutritio".