health & nutrition
Dietary fibre
Dietary fibre is made up of the edible parts of the plant that cannot be digested or absorbed in the small intestine.
The fibre can be found especially in whole grain products like bran and oat bran cereals, whole and mixed grain breads or wholegrain breakfast cereals, for example.
Dietary fibre includes:
- Non-starch polysaccharides: e.g. cellulose, hemicellulose, gums, pectins
- Oligosaccharides: inulin
- Lignin
- Associated plant substances: e.g. lignin and waxes
- Resistant starch: found in pulses, partly milled seeds and grains as well as in processed cereals. It resists digestion in the small intestine.
Dietary fibre is divided into soluble and insoluble fibre:
Soluble fibre is found mostly: in oats, barley, rye, fruits, vegetables and pulses. Soluble fibre may slow digestion and absorption of carbohydrates and therefore help people with diabetes and high blood cholesterol levels improve control their blood glucose and blood lipid levels. Whole grain products provide 20-50 % of their fibre in the soluble (or viscous) form.
Insoluble fibre: in whole grain cereals and wholemeal bread, is important for bowel function and regularity
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