Category Archives: Fibre

Is Fibre Conditionally Essential? More Evidence

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibre is a heterogenous group of non-digestible plant polysaccharides. Dietary fibre has traditionally been considered required to add roughage to food, and little more. However, more recently dietary fibre of various varieties has been shown to have wide ranging … Continue reading →

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Does Dietary Fibre Decrease Calcium and Magnesium Absorption?

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibre is a heterogeneous group of non-digestible polysaccharides. Increasingly dietary fibre is being shown to provide health benefits beyond the traditional viewpoint that it provides bulk to the chyme in the gut. The health benefits of dietary fibre appear … Continue reading →

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Dietary Fibre: Effective Fat Blocker?

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Dietary fibres are a heterogeneous group of plant polysaccharides. Unlike starches, fibres possess glycosidic bonds that are not hydrolysable by human enzymes. As a result the sugars within the polysaccharides are not digestible and are not absorbed in the small … Continue reading →

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Fibre And Insulin Resistance

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Nutrient overload is one of the primary, if not the primary drivers, of insulin resistance. Too much energy in the form of fructose can overload the hepatocytes of the liver with energy and this stimulates the de novo lipogenesis pathway. … Continue reading →

Posted in Carbohydrate, Fibre, Fructose, Fruit, Oats (Avena sativa), Pectin, Pulses / Legumes, Starch, Sugar, Vegetables | Comments Off on Fibre And Insulin Resistance

Short Chain Fatty Acids Lower Blood Cholesterol?

Posted on September 25, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Epidemiological studies suggest that fibre consumption is associated with lower plasma cholesterol concentrations. It has been suggested that the plasma cholesterol lowering effects of high fibre diets may be responsible for their cardioprotective effects. For example, it is estimated from … Continue reading →

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Fibre and Protein: Weight Loss Foods

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Protein is a weight loss food. Evidence from the nutritional literature suggests that eating a high protein diet causes weight loss in those who are overweight. The reason for this in not clear, but the weight loss effects of protein … Continue reading →

Posted in Fibre, Ghrelin, Glucagon-like Peptide 1, Glycaemia, Peptide YY, Polydextrose, Protein, Weight Loss | Comments Off on Fibre and Protein: Weight Loss Foods

Fibre Digestion: Hemicellulose

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Plant fibres are polysaccharides in plants including cellulose, hemicelluloses, gums, waxes, tannins and lignins. The question as to whether fibre is an essential component of the human diet is controversial. High fibre diets do not appear to be a requirement … Continue reading →

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Colonic Function and Fibre

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Robert Barrington

The transit time of chyme through the gastrointestinal tract is a function of the health of the colon. Shorter transit times are associated with improved gastrointestinal health. The main defining variable of colonic transit time, and therefore colonic health is … Continue reading →

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Fibre: Effects on Nitrogen

Posted on July 30, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Fibre is a heterogeneous group of non-digestible plant polysaccharides. Evidence is mounting that fibre is an essential nutrient in man. In this regard, diets absent of a minimum level of fibre lead to specific metabolic changes including blood sugar and … Continue reading →

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Guar Gum: Statin Beaters

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Robert Barrington

Elevated levels of blood lipoproteins are caused by poor quality diets. Low quality foods containing refined cereal grains and refined crystalline fructose induced insulin resistance and this raises plasma levels of fasting insulin. Insulin is the primary anabolic hormone, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Cholesterol, Fibre, Insulin, Insulin Resistance, LDL, Pulses / Legumes, VLDL | Comments Off on Guar Gum: Statin Beaters