Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage or ruffage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:
It acts by changing the nature of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract and by changing how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed. Soluble fiber absorbs water to become a gelatinous, viscous substance and is fermented by bacteria in the digestive tract. Insoluble fiber has bulking action and is not fermen...
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Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage or ruffage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:
It acts by changing the nature of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract and by changing how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed. Soluble fiber absorbs water to become a gelatinous, viscous substance and is fermented by bacteria in the digestive tract. Insoluble fiber has bulking action and is not fermented. Lignin, a major dietary insoluble fiber source, may alter the fate and metabolism of soluble fibers.
Chemically, dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides such as arabinoxylans, cellulose, and many other plant components such as resistant dextrins, inulin, lignin, waxes, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides. A novel position has been adopted by the US Department of Agriculture to include functional fibers as isolated fiber sources that may be included in the diet. The term "fiber" is something of a misnomer,...
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