![]() Let’s explore the different types of fiber, where we find them in foods, and what benefits they provide! Instead, it serves many functions on its journey, and these contribute to our health. However, it doesn’t just pass through the digestive tract as a waste product. You might be wondering how fiber has any benefit to us if we can’t digest it. The chemical structure of cellulose, and a simplified illustration of cellulose. The special bonds between these glucose units in fiber are not enzymatically digested in the digestive tract, and therefore, fiber passes undigested to the colon or large intestine. ![]() You can see that cellulose has long chains of glucose, similar to starch, but they’re stacked up, and there are hydrogen bonds linking the stacks. The chemical structure of cellulose is shown in the figure below, with our simplified depiction next to it. ![]() \)ĭietary fiber is defined by the Institute of Medicine’s Food and Nutrition Board as “nondigestible carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants.” Fiber plays an important role in giving plants structure and protection, and it also plays an important role in the human diet.Ĭellulose is one type of fiber. ![]()
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