title: Beyond dietary fiber.
abstract: The complexity of plant foods high in dietary fiber poses new challenges to clinical investigators and leads to many study-design dilemmas. There are basic differences in studying purified polymers, highly concentrated but not purified fibers, and diets high in high-fiber whole foods. The fibrils of the plant cell wall are most likely altered when prepared as a pure chemical entity, and when fiber concentrates (eg, wheat bran) are used, the method of preparation may alter the composition of the final product. Whole-plant, high-fiber foods are complex storehouses of a diversity of polymers, including resistant starch, and of bioactive compounds. Furthermore, the addition of a reasonable amount of high-fiber food to the diet not only adds dietary fiber but many digestible, caloric macronutrients that alter the entire diet composition. These problems and dilemmas are reviewed.
authors.affiliation: Health Research and Studies Center, Inc, Los Altos, CA 94023-0338.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Spiller
mesh_terms: D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry*; D004435:Eating; D005504:Food Analysis; D006801:Humans; D010945:Plants, Edible / Q000032:analysis*; D011108:Polymers; D012639:Seeds / Q000032:analysis; D013213:Starch / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D011108:Polymers; D013213:Starch