No, it’s not a new video game – FibreX is an “invisible fibre” that scientists have created to try and boost the health benefits of, well, unhealthy foods. Like hiding fruit and veg for fussy children, it’s designed to help people get more fibre into their diets via processed foods.
Starchy solution
The researchers from RMIT have created this food additive by converting starches such as wheat, corn and cassava into dietary fibre using advanced starch modification technology. Unlike other commercial fibre supplements, they say the product can be added to foods without changing their taste or texture.
“Not only is FibreX smooth and tasteless,” they write in a press release, “but it’s also suitable for fortifying low-calorie and low-GI foods and can be gluten free, or for adding to low-fibre foods such as white bread, cakes, pasta, pizza and sauces to make them healthier.”
Experimenting with cakes and breads, they found they could add up to 20% of this fibre to products without impacting the original taste and texture and suggest this food enrichment might help lower people’s risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
What are the health benefits?
Imagine being held up at gunpoint and forced to hand over all your clothes and belongings, upon which the robber then takes pity on you and hands back your underwear and a bus ticket. The question is: do you feel enriched?
This scenario was posed by an author who questioned the benefits of putting nutrients back into food that has had all its nutrients stripped from it. Some might argue that if people will only eat processed food, it’s a way of mitigating the unhealthy impact – there’s lots to say about that, albeit beyond the scope of this blog.
But there could be benefits for older adults with swallowing difficulties if added to texture modified food.
Fibre is important for feeding the millions of microbes that inhabit the gut and for promoting good bowel health, avoiding health problems like bowel cancer, diverticulitis and constipation. It can help lower cholesterol levels, control blood sugar and maintain a healthy weight.
Unfortunately, most Australians don’t eat enough fibre, and it’s particularly important for older adults whose digestive systems start slowing down.
For people who can eat normally, the best way to get plenty of fibre while also getting all the nutrients that promote optimal health is to eat plenty of plant foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes and wholegrains. Exercise and drinking plenty of water are also important.
References
https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2022/nov/invisible-fibre
https://www.foodmag.com.au/rmit-scientists-add-invisible-fibre-to-foods-for-a-healthier-diet/
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/fibre-in-food
https://nutritionaustralia.org/fact-sheets/nutrition-and-older-adults-2/#Constipation
