Dietary fibre has become widely popular like proteins and more people are adding them to foods in abundance to feed our gut and boost our health. According to a recent study a type of fibre which is present in oats and barley, called beta-glucan, can control blood sugar and assist in weight loss among mice fed a high-fat diet.
The team of researchers at the University of Arizona (UA) and the University of Vienna say it is the only type of fiber supplement they tested that decreased a mouse’s fat content and body weight within 18 weeks.
The researchers found that other fibers considered, including wheat dextrin, pectin, resistant starch, and cellulose, had no such effect, despite shifting the makeup of the mouse microbiome significantly compared to mice fed no fiber supplements.
“We know that fiber is important and beneficial; the problem is that there are so many different types of fiber,” explained biomedical scientist Frank Duca from UA in July as quoted by Science Alert.
“We wanted to know what kind of fiber would be most beneficial for weight loss and improvements in glucose homeostasis so that we can inform the community, the consumer, and then also inform the agricultural industry.”
According to a Science Alert report, dietary fibers are the main source of energy for bacteria living in our guts, and yet less than 5 percent of people in the US consume the recommended 25–30 grams (0.9–1 ounce) of fiber a day.
The researchers of the current study tested various types of fibre in one cohort. The scientists only beta-glucan was found to increase the number of Ileibacterium found in the mouse intestine. Other studies on mice have linked this bacterium to weight loss.
Far more research is needed before these results can be extended to humans, but the findings suggest that some fibers may be better suited to weight loss and insulin control than others.
The study was published in the Journal of Nutrition recently.