It’s unlikely that greetings like “Hello” and “How are you?” will ever be replaced with “How’s the old colon today?” Yet few disorders affect as many people as those of the digestive system.
The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, Bethesda, MD, reports that over 70 million Americans’ daily activities or work are adversely affected by a digestive disorder. The International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders, Milwaukee, WI, says one in four Americans are plagued daily by some functional gastrointestinal (GI) problem.
As if the pain and discomfort of conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dyspepsia, chronic diarrhea, and constipation weren’t enough, digestive issues affect other systems in our body: our immune system, nervous system, and our ability to stave off allergies and cancer risks.
As awareness of the importance of digestive health has increased, so has demand for products that support and improve it. And, con-trary to shoppers of yesterday, modern consumers are looking for digestion-friendly products beyond yogurt and bran muffins.
Friendly fiber
When speaking of improving digestion, or at least digestive “output,” fiber has been a common consideration for a long while. Who hasn’t heard, “Eat your fiber, it keeps you regular”?
The term “fiber” refers not to a single ingredient, though, but a family of materials that serve to improve digestion and overall health in a variety of ways. According to AACC International, St. Paul, MN: “Dietary fiber is the edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and absorption in the human small intestine, with complete or partial fermentation in the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin, and associated plant substances.”
Fiber is classified as either “insoluble” or “soluble,” based on whether or not the fiber dissolves in hot water. Insoluble fiber, the more commonly known digestion helper, has long been hailed for maintaining regular bowel movements and reducing constipation. These distinctions persist despite more-recent studies that indicate additional benefits, such as reducing transit time of toxins through the colon and balancing colonic pH, both of which may help prevent colon cancer. Insoluble fibers include cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin, and can come from many plant sources.
Unlike insoluble fibers that pass through the system virtually unchanged, soluble fibers are affected on their journey through our sys-tems. Some form viscous gels in the stomach, slowing foods’ passage through the intestines, allowing for greater nutrient absorption. Additionally, hindering digestion and carbohydrate absorption reduces large swings in blood glucose levels and boosts satiety levels.
Soluble fibers are almost as plentiful as their sources: legumes; cereals such as oats, rye and bran; citrus fruits, as well as strawberries and apples; root vegetables; and psyllium husk. Functional soluble fibers, such as pectin, xanthan, acacia and guar gums, can be used to affect physical characteristics like viscosity.
Fibers can be utilized singly or in combination to achieve a variety of product characteristics. “Some of our single-fiber ingredients include cellulose, cottonseed fiber, wheat fiber, bamboo fiber, sugar beet fiber, sugar cane fiber, natural oat fiber, inner pea fiber, potato fiber and microcrystalline cellulose,” notes Jit Ang, executive vice president, International Fiber Corporation, North Tonawanda, NY. “Of these, most are insoluble fiber, except sugar beet fiber, oat fiber, inner pea fiber and potato fiber. The latter fibers contain a mixture of predominantly insoluble components with some soluble components.”
In some cases, modification of one material yields a new set of benefits. Partial hydrolysis of guar, for example, reduces the viscosifying effect and allows for addition at fortification levels without exceeding acceptable product thickness.
Pro-bacterial
With so many new products bearing the term “antibacterial” these days, it may be difficult for consumers to understand the concept of good bacteria. Probiotics, however, are just that. As defined by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, probiot-ics are “live microorganisms administered in adequate amounts which confer a beneficial health effect on the host.” Probiotic cultures have been studied for positive effects on a variety of conditions ranging from allergies to IBS, prevention of kidney stones, and reduction of blood pressure, cholesterol, dental caries and cancer.