Analysis: reworking food staples using isolated fibre ingredients could mean high-fibre, tasty food products on our supermarket shelves
Nutritionists often advise the public to steer away from refined foods such as white bread, pasta and pastries. Instead, people are encouraged to incorporate wholemeal, fibre-rich alternatives such as traditional brown bread and wholewheat pasta into their diet, while limiting pastries and sweet baked goods to occasional treats. These recommendations are fundamental components of both Irish and global food-based dietary guidelines such as the food pyramid, which are important tools in nutrition education and public health messages.
Decades of research into dietary fibre inform this emphasis on its importance in the diet. Fibre plays an essential role in increasing bowel movements and reducing the risk of colorectal disease. More recent scientific advances also highlight the role of fibre in improving gut health by feeding beneficial bacteria in the gut microbiome, which has been associated with decreased risk of chronic disease such as obesity and cardiovascular disease that are rising in prevalence in Ireland and other Western nations.
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From RTÉ 2fm's Jennifer Zamparelli show, dietician Orla Walsh on the importance of fibre in diet
Data from the most recent national nutrition surveys suggest Irish people across age categories are not eating enough fibre-rich foods. On average, Irish adults are consuming less than 2/3 of the recommended 30g per day of dietary fibre, with similarly low intakes observed in teenagers and children.
Why do many of us avoid high-fibre foods? Consumers often describe high-fibre foods as being dark in colour, chewy, dense, or coarse in texture when compared to their low fibre "refined alternatives". Taste is the most important motive for food choice, as noted in the most recent National Adult Nutrition survey, and finding ways to alter the taste and texture of high-fibre foods may play an important role in increasing fibre intakes and decreasing disease risk in our population.
There are many different types of fibre which food scientists, nutritionists and food companies have isolated from wholefoods and studied in terms of their health benefits and industrial applications. During the isolation and purification process, the coarse external husks characteristic of wholegrain foods may be removed or manipulated, and the resulting fibre may appear more like white plain flour or starch.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, are we seeing a white bread revival?
Each fibre, in isolation, may offer beneficial health effects, many of which have been supported by the European Food Safety Authority and the US Food and Drink Administration. The health effects and safety of these fibres have been determined by data collected in clinical trial research in which members of the population volunteer to consume the products alone or incorporated into foods.
After many years of research, these isolated fibre ingredients can now be found in everyday food products on our supermarket shelves. They may be blended with traditional plain flour at levels which may appear undetectable to consumers when compared to their unfortified alternatives.
Researchers in UCC are currently investigating the impact of reformulating food staples in the Irish diet using a variety of isolated fibre ingredients, each with proposed health promoting effects, to design high-fibre, tasty foods that are acceptable to Irish consumers.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor Show, Bread 41's Eoin Cluskey on how to make perfect bread
By displacing conventional low-fibre refined carbohydrates, they help to increase the fibre and lower the energy content of food products. Additionally, the reformulated foods may increase beneficial gut bacteria, increase one's feeling of fullness (which may decrease how much we eat to maintain a healthy weight) and reduce spikes in blood sugar levels in a similar manner to traditional wholegrain products.
The emergence of high-fibre white baked goods into the Irish market may signal a new age in food design and innovation to tackle public health concerns surrounding low population fibre intakes. Though one may question whether foods enriched with isolated fibre are in fact as beneficial as their less processed wholegrain alternatives, their incorporation into common foods may offer greater food choice and exposure to dietary fibre for those who choose not to consume wholegrain products.
The author is working on the Microbe Restore project funded by Science Foundation Ireland under grant number 19/RP/6853. This project is led by Professor Jens Walter, Professor Elke Arendt, Dr Alice Lucey, and Professor Joao Mota, with fellow PhD students Rebecca Sempio, Aidan O’ Sullivan and Project manager Victoria MacMahon.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
