Dietary Fiber Determination: Food Components and Nutrient Analysis

What is Dietary Fiber? What are the Test Methods?

What is Dietary Fiber?

Dietary fiber is the carbohydrate component found in plant sources that supports gut health because it is not digested by the body. It usually comes from cell walls and usually includes components such as cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, pectin and inulin.

What are its important functions?

• Regulates bowel movements by increasing intestinal peristalsis.
• Protects intestinal health, prevents constipation and reduces the risk of colon cancer.
• It has stabilizing effects on blood sugar and lowers cholesterol levels.
• It gives a feeling of satiety for a long time, thus helping weight control.

The term dietary fiber is used to distinguish cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin from other substances such as fats, proteins, pectin and inorganic substances that make up the cell wall. Whether a plant food is soft or hard, easy or difficult to digest depends on the amount of fiber in the food.

Foods with a high amount of dietary fiber give a feeling of satiety and are especially important for weight control because they do not constitute a high energy value for the human body. Health benefits such as preventing constipation and reducing the risk of bowel cancer increase the value of fiber foods.

Importance of Dietary Fiber Determination

Health:

• Digestive Health: Dietary fibers support the health of the digestive system by regulating bowel movements.
• Blood Sugar Levels: Fibers are an important component of foods with a low glycemic index. This helps regulate blood sugar.
• Cholesterol: Fibers reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases by reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.

Food Safety:

• Food Processing and Storage: Controlling the stability of dietary fibers can extend the shelf life of foods.
• Food Supplements: Foods high in fiber are preferred for nutrition-conscious consumers.

Nutrition Science:

• Optimizing Diet: Dietary fibers in foods help optimize diets to improve the health status of individuals.
• Weight Management: Fibers contribute to weight control by providing a feeling of satiety.

Crude fiber determination is an important parameter for determining the nutritional value and food quality of foods. The American Food and Drug Organization (FDA) and the Turkish Food and Drug Administration (TGK) have generally reported the daily intake of dietary fiber as 35 grams.

Dietary fiber analysis is basically based on the measurement of non-hydrolyzable polysaccharides that will occur with enzymes in the digestive system.

Dietary fiber is used in the food industry, especially to increase water retention capacity, increase tissue development and reduce cooking losses.

Nanolab Laboratories Group continues to provide services within the scope of Dietary Fiber Determination. We also provide services on Cholesterol Determination in Foods.

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