Soy Fiber

I. Overview.

Soybean fiber has attracted much attention and is listed as the seventh nutrient in the National Soybean Project. Modern medicine has proved that soybean fiber can prevent diseases in adults and has important physiological effects on the human body. It has attracted great attention from nutritionists around the world. The World Health Organization has recommended soybean fiber as a “nutritional target for the population”, ranking it as the “seventh major nutrient” after proteins, fats, sugars, vitamins, minerals and water.

II. Nutritional function.

1. Prevent obesity.

The relative density of soybean fiber is relatively low, and the volume after absorbing water is large, which has a volumetric effect on the intestinal tract and easily induces a feeling of satiety. In addition, the presence of soybean dietary fiber affects the body’s digestion and absorption of other available components such as carbohydrates in food, making it less likely for the body to feel hungry, thus having a preventive effect on obesity.

2. Prevent and treat the hypertension, heart disease and atherosclerosis.

Long-term experimental research and clinical data show that hypercholesterolemia is one of the risk factors for hypertension, heart disease and atherosclerosis. Cholesterol in the blood is produced by exogenous food intake and endogenous synthesis in the body. Its main degradation route is to convert it into cholic acid. Both cholesterol and cholic acid are excreted in the feces. Numerous studies have shown that the excretion of cholesterol and cholic acid is closely related to dietary fiber. The water-soluble fiber in soybeans can significantly reduce blood cholesterol concentration.

3. Prevent diabetes.

Soybean fiber has the ability to increase carbohydrates and stimulate insulin secretion. After consuming dietary fiber, high fiber content can increase tissue sensitivity to insulin, thereby producing a hypoglycemic effect. Experiments show that soybean dietary fiber has obvious blood lipid-lowering properties and can adsorb glucose, delay the absorption of sugar in the body, and effectively inhibit the rapid rise of blood sugar.

III. Summary.

Soybean dietary fiber is a high-quality natural dietary fiber with large global production and affordable prices. Since the health effects of dietary fiber have been proposed, the focus on dietary fiber in the diet structure has continued to increase, especially in grain foods, and consumers’ pursuit of high-fiber foods is also increasing day by day.