Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Raw starch granules resist digestion by human enzymes and do not break down into glucose in the small intestine - they reach the large intestine instead and function as prebiotic dietary fiber. [46] When starch granules are fully gelatinized and cooked, the starch becomes easily digestible and releases glucose quickly within the small intestine.
The main action of dietary fiber is to change the nature of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract and how other nutrients and chemicals are absorbed. [8] [9] Soluble fiber binds to bile acids in the small intestine, making them less likely to enter the body; this, in turn, lowers cholesterol levels in the blood. [10]
Amylose A is a parallel double-helix of linear chains of glucose. Amylose is made up of α(1→4) bound glucose molecules. The carbon atoms on glucose are numbered, starting at the aldehyde (C=O) carbon, so, in amylose, the 1-carbon on one glucose molecule is linked to the 4-carbon on the next glucose molecule (α(1→4) bonds). [3]
Resistant starch is considered both a dietary fiber and a functional fiber, depending on whether it is naturally in foods or added. [51] [52] [53] Although the U.S. Institute of Medicine has defined total fiber as equal to functional fiber plus dietary fiber, [54] U.S. food labeling does not distinguish between them. [55]
Dietary fiber is defined to be plant components that are not broken down by human digestive enzymes. [1] In the late 20th century, only lignin and some polysaccharides were known to satisfy this definition, but in the early 21st century, resistant starch and oligosaccharides were included as dietary fiber components.
Starch is made of about 70–80% amylopectin by weight, though it varies depending on the source. For example, it ranges from lower percent content in long-grain rice, amylomaize, and russet potatoes to 100% in glutinous rice, waxy potato starch, and waxy corn. Amylopectin is highly branched, being formed of 2,000 to 200,000 glucose units.
It is approved by the FDA as an ingredient to enhance the dietary fiber value of manufactured foods. [3] Its flavor ranges from bland to subtly sweet (about 10% of the sweetness of sugar/sucrose). It can be used to replace sugar, fat, and flour. This is advantageous because inulin contains 25–35% of the food energy of carbohydrates (starch ...
A suitably modified starch is used as a fat substitute for low-fat versions of traditionally fatty foods, [5] e.g. industrial milk-based desserts like yogurt [6] or reduced-fat hard salami [7] having about 1/3 the usual fat content. For the latter type of uses, it is an alternative to the product Olestra.