Dietary Fiber

Twenty years ago the very idea of an international conference on the fiber contained in plant food would have been totally inconceivable. At that time fiber was generally viewed as an inert component of food of no nutritional value and consequently consid ered as a contaminant, the removal of which would enhance the purity of a product. It was measured by a now obsolete and almost worthless test introduced in the last century for veterinary rather than human nutrition, and what was measured was referred to as "crude fiber," containing part of the cellulose and lignin but none of the numerous components of fiber now known to play important roles in the maintenance of health. There were a few lone voices prior to the last two decades who had extolled the laxative properties of the undigested portion of food, assuming that these were related to its irritant action on the bowel mucosa. In retrospect this was a total misconception, and "softage" would have been a more appropriate term than "roughage," since its presence insured soft, not irritating, colon content.

Proceedings of the George Vahouny Fiber Conference held in Washington, DC, April 19-21, 1988

Springer Book Archives

1. The Chemistry and Properties of Plant Cell Walls and Dietary Fiber.- 2. The Chemical Structure of the Cell Walls of Higher Plants.- 3. Analysis of Dietary Fiber in Human Foods.- 4. Dietary Fiber and Resistant Starch: A Nutritional Classification of Plant Polysaccharides.- 5. Quantitative and Qualitative Adaptations in Gastrointestinal Mucin with Dietary Fiber Feeding.- 6. Premenopausal Osteoporosis: Contributions of Exercise and Dietary Practices.- 7. Total Dietary Fiber and Mineral Absorption.- 8. Effects of Fiber on Vitamin Bioavailability.- 9. Dietary Fiber and Lipid Absorption.- 10. Macronutrient Absorption.- 11. Physiological Effects of Fiber.- 12. Fiber Metabolism and Colonic Water.- 13. Activities of Polysaccharide-Degrading Bacteria in the Human Colon.- 14. The Influence of Dietary Fiber on Microbial Enzyme Activity in the Gut.- 15. The Effects of ?-Amylase-Resistant Carbohydrates on Energy Utilization and Deposition in Man and Rat.- 16. The Ileal Brake: Is It Relevant to the Action of Viscous Polysaccharides?.- 17. Action of Dietary Fiber on the Satiety Cascade.- 18. Lente Carbohydrate or Slowly Absorbed Starch: Physiological and Therapeutic Implications.- 19. Fiber and Gastrointestinal Disease.- 20. Dietary Factors in the Etiology of Gallstones.- 21. Fiber-Depleted Starch Foods and NIDDM Diabetes.- 22. Dietary Fiber in the Management of Diabetes.- 23. Production and Absorption of Short-Chain Fatty Acids.- 24. Short-Chain Fatty Acids: Production, Absorption, Metabolism, and Intestinal Effects.- 25. Soluble Fiber: Hypocholesterolemic Effects and Proposed Mechanisms.- 26. Dietary Fiber and Bile Acid Metabolism.- 27. Antitoxic Effects of Dietary Fiber.- 28. National Cancer Institute Satellite Symposium on Fiber and Colon Cancer.- 29. Influence of Soluble Fibers on Experimental Colon Carcinogenesis.- 30. Insoluble Dietary Fiber and Experimental Colon Cancer: Are We Asking the Proper Questions?.- 31. Bacterial Metabolism, Fiber, and Colorectal Cancer.- 32. The Epidemiology of Fiber and Colorectal Cancer: Why Don't the Analytical Epidemiologic Data Make Better Sense?.- 33. Starch, Nonstarch Polysaccharides, and the Large Gut: Epidemiologic Aspects.- 34. The Epidemiology of Cancer and Its Risk Factors in South African Populations.- 35. Dietary Fiber Intake and Colon Cancer Mortality in the People's Republic of China.- 36. Rationale for Intervention Trials of Dietary Fiber and Adenomatous Polyps.- 37. Future Research Directions, Including Clinical Trials.