Dietary Fiber Definition And Uses
Official definition of dietary fiber varies among different.
Dietary fiber definition and uses. Difference between dietary fiber and soluble fiber definition. Dietary fiber was first officially defined by the government in the united states in 2001 in an iom document 5. The determination of fiber is a complex issue in the field of analytical chemistry and the term dietary fiber includes a wide variety of carbohydrates of diverse chemical nature. In the late 20th century only lignin and some polysaccharides were known to satisfy this definition but in the early 21st century resistant starch and oligosaccharides were included as dietary fiber components.
A comprehensive dietary fiber df definition was adopted by the codex alimentarius commission cac 1 to reflect the current state of knowledge about df 2 to recognize that all substances that behave like fiber regardless of how they are produced can be named as df if they show physiological benefits and 3 to promote international harmonization for food labeling and food composition. The agreement of a definition for dietary fibre by the codex committee on nutrition and foods for special dietary uses ccnfsdu 2008 and annex 1 and its subsequent adoption by the codex alimentarius commission cac 2009 represents a significant step forward for consumers and for the food industry who supply their needs. These examples are from the cambridge english corpus and from sources on the web. As an example both the food and agriculture organization fao of the united nations and the world health organization who refer to nsp fibre as dietary fibre and express their intake recommendations accordingly.
Both dietary fiber and soluble fiber are important in weight loss and increased bowel movement. Moreover the demonstration of the health benefits of these carbohydrates has been recently included in the definition of dietary fiber. Dietary fiber is defined to be plant components that are not broken down by human digestive enzymes. A shift from a chemical definition of fiber to a physiological definition.
Fiber is a very important non nutrient. Dietary fiber is the edible portion of the cell walls in plants. The universally accepted definition of dietary fibers dietary fiber is a type of carbohydrate that cannot be digested by our bodies enzymes. But foods containing fiber can provide other health benefits as well such as helping to maintain a healthy weight and lowering your risk of diabetes heart disease and some types of cancer.
As such the reported fibre content in foods can vary depending on the definition and or the method used to quantify it. Dietary fiber found mainly in fruits vegetables whole grains and legumes is probably best known for its ability to prevent or relieve constipation. Thus dietary fiber.