What are dietary fibers ?

Dietary fibers are the parts of plants that cannot be digested by the human body. These are vegetal substances which are not digested by digestive enzymes. As early as the 1970's Burkitt's research put forward the hypothesis that some ‘modern' diseases (constipation, colorectal cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases…) are related to the changes in the food habits of western countries, especially in terms of the reduction in fiber consumption .

L Dietary fibers are found in products that have undergone little industrial transformations. For example, cereals, white bread, brioches and other pastries, white rice and refined cereals contain little amount of fiber. Dietary fibers are to be found in whole wheat products, like in a 100% whole meal bread or high-grade cereals like oats or barley (flakes or couscous).

In general, we have a tendency to talk about dietary fibers as if they were a unique and homogeneous substance. In fact, there are different types of fibers, each one with its specific properties.

We have to distinguish between insoluble and soluble fibers because they have different properties. It is important to point out that these two types of fibers are found in the same food. The physiological effects of different groups of food containing fibers depend heavily on whether they are rich in soluble and/or insoluble fiber.

Insoluble or raw fibers (cellulose, lignin) are found especially in bran wheat, green vegetables, legumes (beans, broad beans, dried peas, lentils) and fruits. These are cellulose, hemicelluloses and lignin. They facilitate bowel movement thanks to their water-retention capacity that helps increase the volume and weight of stools.

Some fibers swell up to 20 times their weight by absorbing water. This property confers to them the best efficiency in the treatment of constipation. Soluble or tender fibers are constituted of pectin, found in high proportions in fruits and vegetables, gum (such as arabic gum, or carob gum) and in beta-glucans of cereals (psyllium hemicelluloses, bran oats, barley). Some seaweeds contain components which are similar to soluble fibers, like agar and alginates.

        Soluble fibers dissolve with liquids in the intestine and form a gel. They soften the stools and are not irritating. They improve glucidic tolerance and decrease insulin reaction via a slowing down of glucose absorption.

       These observations lead us to advise diabetics and obese people to take cereals (flakes or couscous), whole-wheat bread, fruits (in moderation), and fresh and dried vegetables in order to increase the supply of food fibers and to correct the carbohydrate metabolism. A nderson and Glassman's recent research have shown that these soluble fibers have a hypo-cholesterolic effect that helps increase the efficiency of diets that are low in cholesterol, rich in saturated fat and in starch

In industrialised countries nowadays, the average consumption of fibers is between 20 and 25g per day while it is of a 100g/day in developing countries, where there is a great consumption of vegetal products. In industrialized countries, where recto-colic cancer increases by 2% every year, we observe that since the beginning of the century, there has been a decrease in the consumption of fibers

Furthermore, the decrease in fiber portions has been increased by the intensification of wheat refining whose goal is to eliminate the peripheral layer of the wheat grain, bran, which is rich in fibers

The primary prevention of ‘modern' diseases would be undertaken by enriching food in fiber content. Media campaigns recommending low refined food that is rich in fibers, lean, henceforth, on biological or functional products that require significant research investment. They are also based on local land products which have proved themselves throughout the ages

It is within the framework of this dietetic concern that the good initiative of producing and marketing Sakssou Al Belboula, made of barley semolina, was taken by our company DARI .