Question

1) What is the definition of a wholegrain? Two Examples?

2)In terms of resistant starch or dietary fibre,what is the nutritional problem with the definition of wholegrain?

3) Why do we want resistant starch and dietary fibre to ferment in our large intestine?

Answer 1

Wholegrain -

Whole grains or foods made from them contain all the essential parts and naturally-occurring nutrients of the entire grain seed in their original proportions. e.g., Wheat, Rice, Oats, Maize etc.

If the grain has been processed e.g., cracked, crushed, rolled, extruded, and cooked, the food product should deliver the same rich balance of nutrients that are found in the original grain seed.

Resistant starch is starch, including its degradation products, that escapes from digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals.

Resistant starch occurs naturally in foods but is also added to foods by the addition of isolated or manufactured types of resistant starch.

Dietary fiber is the indigestible portion of food derived from plants.

It has two main components:

- Soluble fiber, which dissolves in water, is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active by- products, and can be prebiotic and viscous.

This delays gastric emptying which, in humans, can result in an extended feeling of fullness.

- Insoluble fiber, which does not dissolve in water, is metabolically inert and provides bulking, or it can be fermented in the colon.

Bulking fibers absorb water as they move through the digestive system, easing defecation.