IAFNS Fall 2022 Webinar Series: “Complex Carbohydrates and the Complexity of Carbohydrates”

Lecture Type: Online Video

Time: 87 minutes 54 seconds

Date: November 3, 2022

Speakers: Dave Luthria, PhD., Mike Bukowski, PhD., Allen Smith, PhD., Pamela Pehrsson, Xianli Wu, Tom Wang PhD.

Topic: Complex Carbohydrates (Fiber)

You can access the lecture by clicking the link here.

What is Dietary Fiber?

This webinar covers the complexity of complex carbohydrates, otherwise known as dietary fiber, and the need for greater research. Dietary fiber is a broad term that encompasses a diverse set of polymeric materials – meaning that they come in many shapes, sizes, and compositions. It has been shown to have beneficial gut microbiome impacts and other beneficial health effects. However, there is an ongoing debate on the definition of dietary fiber. Here are some key definitions as described by the speakers:

Dietary Fiber Defined:

Dietary fiber a complex carbohydrate, which are of chains of sugar molecules (i.e. glucose, fructose, etc.).
Fiber is also known as “resistant starch.”
As a complex carbohydrate, it is a stable source of energy that takes longer to break down. This varies by specific types of fiber.
The most recent definition from the FDA in 2015 declares fiber as: “non-digestible soluble and insoluble carbohydrates (with 3 or more monomeric units) and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants; isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates (with 3 or more monomeric units) determined by the FDA to have physiological effects that are beneficial to human health.”
There are many types of fiber! See the table above for the types of fiber found in different whole foods, where “RS” stands for “resistant starch.”

Current and Future Research on Fiber

Research continues to discover more about the beneficial health effects of dietary fiber. Nutrition scientists are also interested in food processing and cooking impact dietary fiber functionality. Researchers at the USDA are analyzing these aspects of dietary fiber using Ankom dietary fiber analysis, mouse models, and more! Below are some interesting facts and information taken from the lecture:

Fiber Facts:

Fiber is not uniform throughout whole plants, which may impact dietary intake on a population level. For example, mushrooms contain an estimated 30% more fiber in the “stem” than the “fruiting body” (see image below) and because people typically eat the fruiting body more individuals are not obtaining optimal fiber content in their meals.
Fiber is poorly digested; however, it can be digested by the commensal (good) bacteria living in the human gut. Fiber becomes fermented (broken down) into small chain fatty acids and other metabolites that have been found to have beneficial health effects.
Fiber has been found to bind to triglycerides to be excreted in your feces. This means that it can help with cholesterol levels.

Concluding Thoughts

Nutritional science research on fiber seems to have a broad fontier of questions that need to be answered. I hope to share more information on dietary fiber as I explore other research in this field.

If you have a nutritional science background, then this is the video for you to dive into the current research and discover new areas where you may be able to develop your own research projects.

Visit the IAFNS home page here.

Citation

Luthria, D., Bukowski, M., Smith, A., Pehrsson, P., Wu, P., Wang, T. (2022, November 3). [Lecture Recording]. IAFNS-USDA Beltsville Webinar Series. https://iafns.org/event/iafns-usda-beltsville-webinar-series/

Disclaimer

This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. The publisher of this content does not take responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, exercise or other lifestyle program.