Dietary fibres

DIETARY FIBRES

•    Dietary fibre is also called as roughage.

•    Roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods.

•    Dietary fibres do not provide any nutrient to our body and cannot be digested by our body.

•    An adequate intake of fibre is about 18 grams a day, however up to 30-35 g fibre is recommended.

•    Dietary fibre or roughage is essentially a carbohydrate and is found solely in plants.

•    There are mainly two types of fibres:

Soluble Fibres:

1. These fibres are soluble in water.

2. They are found in all fruits and vegetables, but there are some other rich sources like oats, legumes, apples, citrus, barley, pears, and strawberries.

3. Soluble fibre increases the sense of fullness.

4. Soluble fibres decrease blood sugar in diabetics, lowers the cholesterol levels.

Insoluble Fibres:

1. These fibres are insoluble in water.

2. They are found in beans, brown rice, fruits with edible seeds, lentils, maize, oats, pulses, wheat bran, cereals, whole-wheat flour, etc.

3. Insoluble fibre speeds up intestinal transfer time and therefore, helps people who suffer from constipation.