High fibre aids digestion
ACCORDING to heart experts worldwide, the consumption of a high-fibre diet has been associated with lower incidences of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) while the lack of fibre contributes to various digestive problems such as constipation and bowel irregularities.
According to the Malaysian Dietary Guidelines, the recommended daily intake of total fibre for Malaysians is 20g to 30g daily.
However, more than half of the Malaysian adult population consume only about 13g to 15g of dietary fibre per day indicating a fibre-deficient diet among adults.
There is a lack of public awareness on the importance of consuming the right amount and type of dietary fibre daily to help maintain optimal digestive and heart health.
Knowing the fibre content in food
Dietary fibre content is usually listed on a food label as Total Fibre, which is a combination of soluble and insoluble fibre.
As both types have distinctive health benefits, it is important to select the right dietary fibre to deliver the desired health benefits.
Products that are made of natural oat bran such as oat bran powder and crispy oat cereals have high amounts of soluble fibre known as oat beta-glucans.
Daily intake of 3g oat beta-glucan has been extensively studied and documented for lowering cholesterol and regulate glucose in our blood.
For individuals suffering or who are at risk from Type 2 diabetes, many health professionals promote a low glycaemic index (GI) diet.
According to the European Food Safety Authority, the improvement of bowel function through the ingestion of insoluble fibre occurs with increasing bulk in stool and bowel regularity
The Malaysian Health Ministry states that gut health benefit is achieved when a food product contains at least 6% of oat fibre or 3g of total fibre in a single serving
Therefore, it is imperative for consumers to know how much total fibre (including oat beta-glucans) a serving of the food delivers, along with known amounts of carbohydrate and total calories intake.
Five reasons to choose Biogrow Oat BG22 Oat Bran Powder or Crispy Cereal to benefit cholesterol and blood glucose levels as well as digestion are:
> Both are made of only natural ingredients – Swedish oat bran. It is free of artificial ingredients, non-dairy creamers, thickeners and fillers.
> Two scoops or sachets (approximately 18g) of oat bran powder or a packet (30g) of crispy cereal provide 3g or above oat betaglucan (soluble fibre), to produce high viscosity effect in the gut.
> Both powder and cereal offer a balanced combination of soluble and insoluble fibre with at least 22% total fibre content. They are lab-tested low in GI, which are suitable for consumers with diabetes.
> Both produce good viscosity (gelling) effect in the gut, which is an important criterion to produce optimal cholesterol-lowering effect.
> Proven cholesterol-lowering and blood glucose-regulating effects with more than 20 clinical studies on human subjects
This article is contributed by Legosan (M) Sdn Bhd.
References
Mal J Nutr 16(2): 271 - 280, 2010. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products Nutrition and Allergies (NDA), 2010a, 2010b, 201.
FSQD, MOH. Guide to Nutrition Labelling & Claims (as at Dec 2010).
EFSA Journal 2010;8:1885[15 pp.]. For more information, call 03-7956 2220.