Dietary fiber recommended daily intake

The beneficial effects of dielary fiber, including both soluble and insoluble fiber, are generally recognized. Current recommendations arc for daily intakes of 20-35 g in a balanced diet of cereal products, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. However, the specific preventive role of dietary fiber in certain diseases has been difficult to establish, in pan because dielary risk factors such as high saturated fat and high protein levels are reduced as fiber levels increase. 

The effect on zinc balance of a 10-fold difference in dietary molar ratio of phytate/zinc was tested in a metabolic balance study with 10 adult men. The mean zinc balance was 2.7 mg per day vrtien the dietary molar ratio of phytate/zinc was about 12 and 2.0 mg per day when the ratio was about 1. Menus consisted of foods commonly consumed in the United States. The mean daily intake of zinc was 17 mg and of neutral detergent fiber 16 g. The molar ratios of phytate/zinc were attained by using 36 g per day of whole or dephytinized wheat bran. Analysis of hospital and self-chosen diets Indicate that the majority of the United States population consume diets with molar ratios of phytate/zinc less than 10, but which provide less than the recommended dietary allowance of zinc. The balance results are discussed in relation to magnitude of the zinc intake, the type of food consumed and the role of adaptive responses in maintaining adequate zinc nutriture. 

The average daily intake of fiber in the United States is about 12 g. The Food and Nutrition Board has not established a requirement for fiber but states that fiber intake should be derived from fruits, vegetables, legumes, and cereals, not from fiber concentrates. If a recommended dietary allowance for fiber is established, it will refer to specific types of fiber rather than to fiber in general. 

It is my hope and belief that this publication will help in the expansion and utilization of fiber sources in foods, as well as in pharmaceutical and medical preparations. After all, we should recognize that the chance to accomplish this is quite favorable because complex carbohydrates, which are the main constituents of dietary fiber, represent the only group of major food components for which increased daily intake is repeatedly being recommended. 

National Academy of Sciences (USA) [11] has recommended a daily intake of at least five servings of fruit and vegetables, particularly citric fruits, carotene-rich fruits and vegetables, and cmciferous vegetables to reduce the risk of both cancer and heart disease scientific research has demonstrated that the presence of dietary fibers and polyphenols in fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of cancer because of their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. 

How much carbohydrate should you consume Nutrition experts in the United States and Canada have used thousands of nutrition studies to produce a set of standards caiied the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI). The DRI for carbohydrates is that they should compose 45-65% of caloric intake. For a person on a 2000-Cai/day diet, that translates to 225-325 g of carbohydrates per day. To meet these requirements, choose a diet with plenty of vegetables, fruits, and grain products and avoid added sugars. Such a diet wiii naturally include the 20-30 g of recommended daily fiber. 

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