Answer:
- Humans don't have the enzyme to digest the bonds between monosaccarides that make up fiber
- fiber contains potential energy
Step-by-step explanation:
Dietary fiber (FD): edible part of plants that resists digestion and absorption in the small intestine and undergoes partial or total fermentation in the large intestine. Its role in intestinal function is the criterion that has been used to establish the recommendations. It is considered that an intake of 25-30 g / day of FD (14 g / 1,000 kcal), from food - not from supplements - and from different sources, is the recommended amount. The desirable ratio between insoluble / soluble fiber is 3/1. Food fiber, according to its chemical characteristics and its effects on the human body, is classified as soluble fiber and insoluble fiber.
The soluble fiber has a branched structure that allows it to retain water forming gels. It is very fermentable because of the intestinal flora, capable of producing a large amount of volatile fatty acids (acetate, butyrate, propionate). It helps to increase the fecal bolus, increasing the bacterial mass. Within this type of fiber is inulin, pectins, gums and fructooligosaccharides. It is the type of fiber that predominates in legumes, in cereals such as oats and barley and in some fruits.
Insoluble fiber captures little water, is not fermentable by the intestinal microbiota and its mixtures have low viscosity. Decreases the viscosity of the bolus and the intestinal transit time. This type of fiber is very useful in preventing constipation. Ex .: cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and resistant starch. It is the type of fiber that predominates in wheat bran, whole grains, some vegetables and in general, in all cereals.
The fiber being composed of monosaccharides of monosaccharides could potentially be used as energy if the polysaccharides constituting the fiber could be degraded.