Download Focus on Fibre: new policy and the latest science dietary

FALL 2014
Focus on Fibre: ne w polic y and the l atest science
Health Canada’s new Policy for Labelling and Advertising of Dietary FibreContaining Food Products1 provides an updated and broadened definition
of dietary fibre. The new policy has allowed for an expanded breadth of fibrecontaining foods in the Canadian market, potentially increasing fibre consumption
among Canadians. Currently there is a widespread fibre gap between the
recommended fibre intake and fibre consumption in Canada. The consequences
of the fibre gap are evident when the physiological outcomes and health benefits
of fibre are understood. Some of the benefits of fibre are well-established while
others are only beginning to emerge.
DID YOU KNOW?
Over 90% of Canadians do
not get the recommended
daily amount of dietary
fibre. 2
Die tary fibre polic y in C anada
Claudine Gourgue, PhD, Food Directorate, Health Canada
Background on Health Canada’s Revised Dietary Fibre Policy
Dietary fibre is one of 13 nutrients declared in the Nutrition Facts table on food labels. The first Canadian dietary fibre
definition was adopted in 1985 and included only non-starch polysaccharides of plant origin as fibre sources. In subsequent
years, with scientific advances in fibre, many new products with fibre properties were developed, but they did not meet the
Canadian fibre definition. In the 2000s, many countries and scientific bodies, including Australia, New Zealand, the U.S.
Institute of Medicine, Codex Alimentarius and the European Union, revised their fibre definition which expanded the list of
eligible fibres sources to include non-digestible oligosaccharides, resistant starch and other modified substances. The 1985
Canadian fibre definition was very restrictive and limited consumer choices regarding dietary fibre ingredients, so the need
arose to harmonize the Canadian fibre definition to those used in other countries.
Recently, Health Canada’s Food Directorate released a revised dietary fibre policy after a consultation period. The purpose
of updating the old policy was also to develop guidance for the food industry, to assure consumers that ingredients
declared to be dietary fibre sources are safe and perform one or more of the physiological functions expected of dietary fibre.
This approach meets Health Canada’s mandate to maintain and improve the health of the Canadian population.
Features of the New Dietary Fibre Policy
Definition of Dietary Fibre
Compared to the 1985 definition, the new fibre definition
encompasses a wider range of products.
Dietary fibre consists of:
1) Carbohydrates with a degree of polymerization (number
of saccharide units) of 3 or more that naturally occur in foods
of plant origin and that are not digested and absorbed by
the small intestine; and
2) Accepted novel fibres.
Novel fibres are ingredients manufactured to be sources of
dietary fibre and consist of carbohydrates with a degree of
polymerization of 3 or more that are not digested and
absorbed by the small intestine. They are synthetically
produced or are obtained from natural sources which have
no history of safe use as dietary fibre or which have been
processed so as to modify the properties of the fibre
contained therein. Accepted novel fibres have at least one
physiological effect demonstrated by generally accepted
scientific evidence.
Health Canada’s
Recognized Physiological
Fibre Effects
1)Improves laxation or regularity by increasing stool bulk
2)Reduces total blood and/or low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels
3)Reduces post-prandial blood glucose
and/or insulin levels
4)Provides energy-yielding metabolites through colonic fermentation
Dietary fibre includes all edible plant materials that meet the definition for fibre stated above, have a history of use as food and have
been processed or cooked using conventional processes. Typical fibre sources include fruits, vegetables, pulses, seeds, nuts, cereals,
legumes, etc. Novel fibres may either be extracted from agricultural crops or their by-products (e.g. pea hull fibre) or modified from
such materials (e.g. resistant starch type 4); substances of animal or bacterial origin (e.g. chitin derived from lobster shells or xanthan
gum obtained from bacterial fermentation of sugars); or synthesized materials (e.g. polydextrose). All novel fibres must be shown to
meet standards of safety for food ingredients. Once a physiological function has been demonstrated for a novel fibre, the product
can be labelled as a dietary fibre and is known as such.
Examples of dietary fibres accepted by Health Canada:
Fructooligosaccharides
inulin
oat bran
oat hull fibre
pea hull fibre
polydextrose
Energy Value
It is now well established that dietary fibre provides the body with less energy than digestible carbohydrates such as sugars
and starch. Therefore, the energy value of 2 kcal (8 kJ) / g has been adopted to replace the default value of 4 kcal (17 kJ) / g of
fibre previously used in Canada for nutrition labelling. The new value is a more accurate reflection of the energy available to
the body from the fibre fraction of a food. In addition, products with energy values lower than 2 kcal (8 kJ) / g based on
scientific evidence may carry a label declaration of these specific caloric values.
Outcomes of the New Fibre Policy
The new fibre definition provides consumers with greater choice of fibre sources, since most of the ingredients which were
not eligible as fibres based on the 1985 definition are currently in the Canadian market as accepted fibres. While Health
Canada recognizes that the best sources of dietary fibres are fruits, vegetables, pulses, seeds, nuts, cereals, legumes, etc.,
the consumption of food products enriched with accepted dietary fibres may also contribute to increasing the Canadian daily
fibre intake which is currently below the recommended values.
Fibre, Whole Gr ains and Health
Julie Miller Jones, PhD, LN, CNS, CFS, FICC. St. Catherine University, St. Paul, MN, USA
Dietary fibre intake in Canada is far below recommended levels creating an extreme fibre gap. This is unfortunate because
dietary fibres, especially the right mix of viscous, soluble and insoluble fibres found in a diet containing a variety of fibre
sources - both intrinsic and added fibres - has many health benefits. The new Health Canada guidance on dietary fibre can help
consumers address the fibre gap because it recognizes the importance of giving fibre status to all carbohydrate oligomers.
Dietary Fibre Gap in Canada
According to the Dietary Reference Intakes3, North American females, 19 - 50 years old, need 25 g of dietary fibre per day and
males of the same age need 38 g per day. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey, shows that the average
intake for adults was 17 g per day. 2
DID YOU KNOW?
High fibre food choices are more likely eaten at breakfast. A recent study showed that
only 0.3% of breakfast skippers met the dietary recommendation for fibre. By contrast,
13% who ate cereal for breakfast met the fibre recommendations compared to just 3.5%
of breakfast eaters not choosing cereal. 4
Evidence for Health Benefits of Dietary Fibre
Dietary fibre’s role in promoting health and reducing disease risk are many and recognized. Health Canada has approved
dietary fibres which show laxation benefits; blood lipid attenuation; blood glucose and insulin modulation; and provide
energy-yielding metabolites through colonic fermentation. Other benefits, such as those associated with aiding satiety and
maintaining body weight, are actively being researched.
Laxation
Fibres found naturally in food and added to food result in
bulkier, more easily passed stools5,6. Health Canada has
approved function claims for both coarse wheat bran and
psyllium fibre for their role in promoting laxation or regularity.
Blood Lipids
Viscous fibres such as soluble β-glucan in oats help lower
total and LDL cholesterol and alter a number of aspects of
lipid metabolism. Thus, many jurisdictions, including Canada,
allow health claims for whole grain oats or oat bran, oat
derivatives, barley and psyllium. 22 of 24 studies showed that
oat products reduced cholesterol in those with elevated
levels. Just a 3 week intervention with 3 g per day oat
β-glucan improved lipid parameters in men with type 2
diabetes, but the polymer is effective only if the β-glucan
has a high molecular weight.7-10
Blood Glucose and Insulin
Viscous soluble fibres have been shown to reduce
postprandial glycemia and insulin resistance in various
populations.11-13 However, in prospective studies, insoluble
fibre, not soluble fibre, in food was inversely related to the risk
type 2 diabetes.14 Groups eating a diet low in cereal fibre with
a high glycemic load had high rates of abnormal glucose
tolerance.15 Soluble fibre from oats (0.3 -12 g β-glucan) has
been shown in 75% of 34 human studies to decrease blood
glucose by an average of 48 mmol min/L. The greatest
decrease was observed with intact grains. In foods with higher
levels of processing, the effect depended on β-glucan dose
and molecular weight.7,11
Fermentation Products and Energy-Yielding Metabolites
Dietary fibre’s fermentation to short chain fatty acids provides
fuel for healthy colonic cells and acts as a prebiotic that may
favourably affect gut health and microflora. The effects of
colonic fermentation and the ability of dietary fibre to alter
the microbiome needs much more study, despite an
exponential increase in information in the last few years.
At this point, we cannot even name and culture all the
organisms. We do not know if there is an optimal balance of
organisms for good health, or if there are many healthy ways
to provide the balance. While we know many of the organisms
that are present in the guts of healthy breast-fed babies, we
do not know if organisms should change as we age or what
organisms are critical for good health. We do know that fibre
increases fermentation in the gut and the products of
fermentation not only lower gut pH that may have a health
benefit, including lowering cancer risk, but also may improve
mineral absorption. Further, pH determines which microbial
species will thrive and affects enzyme systems beyond the
gut such as those affecting cholesterol and perhaps glucose
metabolism. However, we do not know if all fermentation is
good and what level of fermentation is optimal.16,17
Emerging Benefits: Satiety, Maintaining Body Weight
and the Benefits of Whole Grains Beyond Fibre
Satiety’s measurement and definition are not uniform, making
interpretation of the literature difficult. But it is known that
certain food components influence appetite and satiety.
Satiety, for these studies, is defined as absence of the
motivation to eat and is a key element in adjusting energy
balance so it is a legitimate field to explore.
Dietary fibre’s role in satiety is related to its water-holding in a
food and/or its impact on viscosity of a meal. Both aspects are
thought to increase feelings of fullness and therefore reduce
appetite. Soluble fibres especially have been shown to impact
satiety ratings, but other physical properties may determine
the degree of satiety reported. Processing impacts on fibres
need to be measured as they can affect viscosity, which has
been shown to influence short-term satiety.7
In some prospective cohorts, cereal fibre is associated with
lower body mass index (BMI) and tendency to lose weight
over time, so perhaps the satiety afforded by fibres and whole
grain cereals have a moderate impact.18,19 In data from the
Framingham cohort of older individuals, only cereal fibre, not
total or fruit or vegetable fibre, was related to lower BMI and
fat mass. 20,21
The benefits of cereal fibre may reflect that whole grain
cereals have many benefits beyond fiber. Often the risk
reduction between a particular health outcome and whole
grains in prospective cohort studies is even more impressive
than the reductions seen with fibre on its own. That is
because whole grain cereals offer an impressive array of other
nutrients such as B vitamins; magnesium; phytochemicals
such as stanols and sterols; lignins and lignans;
alkylresorcinols; avenanthramides; and essential and unusual
fatty acids. The synergy of these with the fibres and other
components of the grain may enhance their effects and
determine where in the body they exert their effect. 22-24
FALL 2014
the bot tom line
Health Canada’s revised fibre policy now recognizes the many impactful roles dietary fibres can play in the health of Canadians.
The consumption of food products enriched with dietary fibres may contribute to increased fibre intake, which is important
given that the vast majority of Canadians are not getting enough fibre. Dietitians are in a good position to recommend a variety
of high-fibre foods, including foods with added fibre, to help Canadians increase their dietary fibre intake and reap the health
benefits associated with all types of dietary fibre.
Health Canada recognizes the physiological effects of fibre on laxation, cholesterol reduction, blood glucose and/or insulin
control and production of energy-yielding metabolites through colonic fermentation. Other areas of emerging research
include satiety and maintaining body weight.
Whole grains play an important role in providing the right mix of soluble and insoluble fibres to deliver health benefits which
may go beyond fibre due to their synergistic effects with the other nutrients and components of the grain.
In the Marketplace
PepsiCo Canada offers a number of products that are a source of fibre. The fibre in these products comes from ingredients such
as inulin, oat hull fibre, corn bran and whole grains - including oats, wheat, rye, barley, brown rice and triticale.
Quaker® High Fibre Raisins
& Spice Instant Oatmeal
4 g fibre, 23 g whole grains
per 43 g serving
Quaker® Fibre & Omega-3
Honey & Pecan Granola Bars
5 g fibre, 11 g whole grains
per 35 g serving
Quaker® Corn Bran
Squares™ Cereal
5 g fibre, 4 g whole grains
per 30 g serving
Quaker® Banana &
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
3 g fibre, 9 g whole grains
per 35 g serving
SunChips® Original
Multigrain Snacks
4 g fibre, 33 g whole grains
per 50 g serving
Tostitos® Artisan Recipes™
Roasted Garlic & Black Bean
Flavoured Tortilla Chips
4 g fibre, 14 g whole grains per 50 g serving
Quaker® Wheat
Bran Cereal
10 g fibre, 0 g whole grains
per 30 g serving
Large Flake
Quaker® Oats
3 g fibre, 30 g whole grains
per 30 g serving
Brought to you by the Nutrition Professionals at PepsiCo Canada
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REFERENCES
1. Health Canada, Bureau of Nutritional Sciences, Food Directorate, Policy for Labelling and Advertising of Dietary Fibre-Containing Food Products, 2012
2. Statistics Canada, Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2, Nutrition (2004)
3. Dietary Reference Intakes, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, Copyright 2006 by the National Academy of Sciences
4. Deshmukh-Taskar PR1, Nicklas TA, O’Neil CE, Keast DR, Radcliffe JD, Cho S.
The relationship of breakfast skipping and type of breakfast consumption with
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5. Burkitt DP, Walker AR, Painter NS. Effect of dietary fibre on stools and the transit-
times, and its role in the causation of disease. Lancet. 1972 Dec 30;2(7792):1408-12.
6. Timm DA, Thomas W, Boileau TW, Williamson-Hughes PS, Slavin JL.
Polydextrose and soluble corn fiber increase five-day fecal wet weight in healthy men and women. J Nutr. 2013 Apr;143(4):473-8.
7. Wolever TM, Tosh SM, Gibbs AL, Brand-Miller J, Duncan AM, Hart V, Lamarche B, Thomson BA, Duss R, Wood PJ. Physicochemical properties of oat β-glucan
influence its ability to reduce serum LDL cholesterol in humans: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Oct;92(4):723-32.
8. Food and Drug Administration. A Food Labeling Guide (11. Appendix C: Health Claims) http://www.fda.gov/food/guidanceregulation/guidancedocuments
regulatoryinformation/labelingnutrition/ucm064919.htm
9. Health Canada, Oat Products and cholesterol lowering. http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/
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fn-an/label-etiquet/claims-reclam/assess-aevalu/barley-orge-eng.php
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12.Hall M, Flinkman T. Do fiber and psyllium fiber improve diabetic metabolism? Consult Pharm. 2012 Jul;27(7):513-6.
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Whole-grain intake and the risk of type 2 diabetes: a prospective study in men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2002 Sep;76(3):535-40.
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febslet.2014.03.035. [Epub ahead of print]
17.Roberfroid M1, Gibson GR, Hoyles L, McCartney AL, Rastall R, Rowland I, Wolvers D, Watzl B, Szajewska H, Stahl B, Guarner F, Respondek F, Whelan K, Coxam V, Davicco MJ, Léotoing L, Wittrant Y, Delzenne NM, Cani PD, Neyrinck AM, Meheust A. Prebiotic effects: metabolic and health benefits. Br J Nutr. 2010 Aug;104 Suppl 2:S1-63.
18.Ye EQ, Chacko SA, Chou EL, Kugizaki M, Liu S Greater whole-grain intake is
associated with lower risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain. J Nutr. 2012 Jul;142(7):1304-13
19.Babio N, Balanza R, Basulto J, Bulló M, Salas-Salvadó J.Dietary fibre: influence on body weight, glycemic control and plasma cholesterol profile. Nutr Hosp. 2010 May-Jun;25(3):327-40.
20.Wang H, Troy LM, Rogers GT, Fox CS, McKeown NM, Meigs JB, Jacques PF. Longitudinal association between dairy consumption and changes of body weight and waist circumference: the Framingham Heart Study. Int J Obes (Lond). 2014 Feb;38(2):299-305.
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