A high-fiber diet has long been linked to a variety of health advantages, and new research continues to reveal more reasons to include fiber in your diet.
Insoluble fiber has long been praised by health specialists for its benefits to bowel regularity and overall health. According to new research from the University of Minnesota, there are even more reasons to prioritize fiber in our normal meals. Researchers discovered that each plant source of insoluble fiber contains unique bioactive – compounds linked to a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and Type 2 diabetes – offering potential health benefits beyond those of the fiber itself, according to a new study published in Nutrients.
“People understand the need for fiber and how it relates to gut health — an area of wellness that is becoming increasingly important as scientific research continues to reveal its impact on overall health and wellbeing,” said Joanne Slavin, co-author of the paper and a professor in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota.
“Fiber is the marker of health that is included in our dietary guidelines and found on product labels, but our research indicates that we need to ensure the other valuable components of fiber-containing plant sources – the bioactives – are also recognized as providing valuable benefits for human health.”
If we can offer widely accessible fiber-fortified products that have been developed to enhance rather than negate bioactive content, we can provide consumers with increased nutritional value.
Jan-Willem Van Klinken
The study aggregated the available literature on the health benefits of bioactives in plant sources of insoluble dietary fiber.
They found:
- Insoluble dietary fiber is found in a variety of plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, and each source provides distinct bioactives that support health in different ways.
- Quercetin, Resveratrol, Catechins, Anthocyanins, Lutein, Lycopene, and Beta-Carotene were discovered in a variety of plant foods that also include insoluble dietary fiber.
- Plant sources rich in bioactive and insoluble dietary fiber could be employed to boost the nutritional content of processed foods. Byproducts of food production such as peel, hulls, pulp, or pomace are often high in fiber and bioactive and hence provide distinct nutritional value from sustainable sources.
- Consumer research found that utilizing this fortification at a low level did not decrease consumer acceptability of the food product.
“The suggestion to eat more fruits and vegetables isn’t a novel idea, but it’s something most people still struggle to do,” said Jan-Willem Van Klinken, co-author of the study and senior vice president of medical, scientific, and regulatory affairs for Brightseed. “If we can offer widely accessible fiber-fortified products that have been developed to enhance rather than negate bioactive content, we can provide consumers with increased nutritional value.”
This most recent study on the impact of bioactives on human health highlights the need for industry, academia, and government to work together to promote widespread knowledge and education about bioactives in food and health systems.
“The collection of literature we reviewed, as well as the results of this research, can serve as a paradigm shift in how the food and health industries, as well as consumers, view insoluble dietary fiber and bioactive,” said lead author Madeline Timm, who co-authored the study for her graduate project at the University of Minnesota. “Continued research and broad inclusion of bioactive in foods and supplements can have a real impact on human health.”
