Effects of Fibre and Resistant Starch on Intestinal Motility and Function

Abstract

The basic premise of the dietary fibre hypothesis is that the populations of industrialized Western countries suffer from a form of chronic malnutrition. Within a few years of its inception this rather surprising idea had captured the imagination of the general public, clinicians, research workers and, in the present context most importantly, biomedical research funding agencies on both sides of the Atlantic. Nevertheless it has been extremely difficult to test the dietary fibre hypothesis directly. Although recommended intakes for fibre are now routinely included in the dietary guidelines of all developed nations, it has not yet been possible to confirm a protective role for fibre consumption in the aetiology of any disease. This is partly because scientific theories, by their very nature, can be refuted but never finally proven, and partly because the development of non-infectious diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes occurs over many years. A direct test of the dietary fibre hypothesis is greatly hampered by the impossibility of controlling, or even measuring with any accuracy, the dietary habits of large numbers of people over such lengthy periods of time.