Effects of Dietary Fiber on Human Health: A Review

Abstract

The aim of this article is to review literature data on the terminology, classification and physiological effects of dietary fibers. Results. The scientific studies on the terminology, classification and characteristics of various types of dietary fiber are presented, the sources of dietary fiber and their positive physiological effects are described. Nowadays no consensus definition has been given to the concept of dietary fibers. The authors point to dietary fibers being related to chemical compounds defined by structure, or functional properties, and/or a combination of both structural and functional properties. The authors noted one commonality in these definitions: each mentioned positive physiological effects. The modern classification system for dietary fibers is wide and diverse and can be based on origin, structure of polymers, solubility, ion exchange, sorption or physiological effect. Many studies have shown that dietary fibers can promote human health and help prevent specific chronic diseases that increase mortality and reduce life expectancy. Numerous healthful effects of the dietary fibers have been documented. These include curative and preventive effects for diseases such as obesity, certain types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and constipation. Conclusion. Fibers are considered before other nutrients to ensure a healthy nutrition. Research continues to contribute new data on the effect of dietary fiber on the human body.

Artificial Neural Networks for Predicting Food Antiradical Potential

“…One of discussed topics related to dietary fiber is the ability to regulate the concentration of microcomponents (dosage) in food with their help, as well as the ability to influence the rate of their absorption in the human intestine from chyme. Conversely, an inverse relationship is known between their concentration in food and the likelihood of oncological diseases of the intestine and cardiovascular pathologies [40][41][42].…”

“…Recently, studies on the epidemiological relationship between the component composition of food systems and the presence (absence) of chronic diseases in humans have been regularly published [40,41,50]. This topic is closely related to food engineering, but as mentioned above, massive amounts of data complicate the analysis of the influence of food factors both on each other and on human health.…”

Nutritional Composition and Bioactive Compounds in Tomatoes and Their Impact on Human Health and Disease: A Review

“…Tomato is an important dietary source of both soluble and insoluble dietary fibers, namely cellulose, hemicelluloses and pectins [ 20 ]. In general, these fibers are resistant to intestinal digestion in the large intestine and are believed to ameliorate bowel disorders, cancer, diabetes, CVDs, and obesity [ 21 , 22 ]. Important proximate composition parameters for tomatoes include sugar content, pH, energy, acidity and reducing sugar contents [ 4 ].…”

Prospects for use of new sources of dietary fibers in the technology of flour confectionery products

“…Dietary fiber is a complex of polysaccharides (cellulose, hemicellulose, pectic substances) and lignin, which forms the cell walls of plants [2,7]. Dietary fibers are polymeric compounds varying in the composition and structure of monomers, their sequence in the polymer chain, position of glycoside bonds, molecular mass and degree of polymerization as well as in space structure and packing density.…”