Americans typically consume only about half of the recommended daily intake of dietary fiber, highlighting a significant public health challenge. Bruce Hamaker, a Distinguished Professor of Food Science at Purdue University, emphasizes the need to boost dietary fiber consumption, which is predominantly sourced from plant-based foods such as grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and some tubers like potatoes. However, the production of processed foods often leads to the removal of original fiber, sometimes substituting it with inulin, a soluble fiber not ideal for fostering beneficial gut bacteria, Clostridia.
Unlike inulin, whole-food fibers contain both soluble and insoluble fibers beneficial for Clostridia, which are linked to anti-inflammatory health benefits.
In response to this issue, Hamaker and Thaisa Cantu-Jungles, a research assistant professor of food science at Purdue, initiated a study to assess the gut-health effects of whole-food fibers versus inulin, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Cantu-Jungles notes, "This study is a comparison between inulin and a fiber blend from whole foods that is more suitable to promote this specific group of bacteria. Data show that the beneficial Clostridia are important specifically for metabolic diseases like obesity."
Source: ag.purdue.edu
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