1: Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2005 Nov;8(6):636-40. 

A place for dietary fibre in the management of the metabolic syndrome.

Delzenne NM, Cani PD.

Unit of Pharmacokinetics, Metabolism, Nutrition and Toxicology, Catholic
University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. delzenne@pmnt.ucl.ac.be

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To control the global increase of obesity and
associated-metabolic syndrome, nutritional advice remains an important
objective. This review discusses factors that may explain how dietary fibre
would be helpful in the management of food intake, body weight and metabolic
syndrome. RECENT FINDINGS: Dietary fibre could play a role in the management of
the metabolic syndrome through its ability to control body weight evolution
through its effect on satiety; to modulate glucose homeostasis/insulin
sensitivity and to positively affect factors implicated in cardiovascular
diseases. The relevance and the relative importance of these effects in control
of metabolic syndrome remain unknown. Recent experimental data suggest that the
modification of gut peptides--involved in appetite and glucose
homeostasis--could constitute a 'metabolic relay' allowing specific
(fermentable) dietary fibre to act on appetite and other components of the
metabolic syndrome. SUMMARY: Dietary fibre intake may modulate parameters
associated with the control of the metabolic syndrome, namely food intake (and
body weight), glycemia and insulinemia, blood lipids and blood pressure. The
efficacy of dietary fibre differs according to their dietary sources (fruits,
legumes or cereals), but also to their specific chemical structure, responsible
for their physical properties (i.e. gel forming capacity) or for their
fermentation capacity in the lower part of the gut. The fermentability of
dietary fibre seems important to generate specific effects on satiety and
glycemia through the release of gut peptides such as glucagon-like peptide-1.

Publication Types:
    Review

PMID: 16205465 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]