Is There a Place for Dietary Fiber Supplements in Weight Management?

Inadequate dietary fiber intake is common in modern diets, especially in children. Epidemiological and experimental evidence point to a significant association between a lack of fiber intake and ischemic heart disease, stroke atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, overweight and obesity, insulin resistance, hypertension, dyslipidemia, as well as gastrointestinal disorders such as diverticulosis, irritable bowel disease, colon cancer, and cholelithiasis. The physiological effects of fiber relate to the physical properties of volume, viscosity, and water-holding capacity that the fiber imparts to food leading to important influences over the energy density of food. Beyond these physical properties, fiber directly impacts a complex array of microbiological, biochemical, and neurohormonal effects directly through modification of the kinetics of digestion and through its metabolism into constituents such as short chain fatty acids, which are both energy substrates and important enteroendocrine ligands. Of particular interest to clinicians is the important role dietary fiber plays in glucoregulation, appetite, and satiety. Supplementation of the diet with highly functional fibers may prove to play an important role in long-term obesity management

MEAT SCIENCE

This study evaluated the effects of three aging methods: (dry (D), wet (W), and special bag (SB)); two quality grades [USDA Choice(>= Small(50) marbling) and Select); and two cooked end-point temperatures (62.8 degrees C and 71.1 degrees C) on physico-chemical traits of instrumental tenderness, color, and sensory properties of Longissimus lumborum beef muscle. Dry-aged loins had higher (P0.05) combined losses. W aged loins had higher (P0.05) by aging method or quality grade but increased (P0.05) of aging method or quality grade on myofibrillar tenderness, juiciness, connective tissue amount, overall tenderness or off flavor intensity. Steaks cooked to 62.8 degrees C were juicier (P<0.05) than those cooked to 71.1 degrees C. Neither D nor SB aging had advantages over W aging. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved