Study: FiberSMART soluble tapioca fiber has good tolerability in adults
Functional, nutraceutical ingredients provider notes FiberSMART is tolerable as sugar replacement.
Brands and manufacturers alike are seeking to reduce sugar content in their products in one way or another. Most attempt to achieve this goal by replacing sugar content with polyols and/or dietary fiber. Unfortunately, polyols and most dietary fiber sources have a well-deserved bad reputation in the marketplace because they are tied to gas, bloating, and other gastrointestinal distress issues.
“Over the years, sugar content has increased as the food industry has raced to make the best-tasting products. Now with the new FDA labeling rules on added sugars, consumers are better informed and able to choose products with less sugar. But they don’t want to have to give up the frequency of enjoying their favorite foods because of digestive issues. FiberSMART takes that concern off the table,” says John Jarmul, vice president of marketing for Anderson Advanced Ingredients, a global provider of functional and nutraceutical ingredients.
Published tolerance study results mean consumers can savor more treats
Anderson Advanced Ingredients worked with Murdoch University’s Centre for Molecular Medicine + Innovative Therapeutics in Australia to validate and verify the anecdotal evidence that FiberSMART was highly tolerable as a sugar replacement.
Timothy Fairchild, PhD, who led the study, offered further insight, saying: “When our team at Murdoch University first investigated [carbohydrate] alternatives to simple sugars, FiberSMART Tapioca Fiber seemed like a compelling solution but there was no data supporting the assumed tolerability.
“Our team followed 40 healthy adults over three months to determine how tolerable FiberSMART might really be. We were surprised to find that GI symptoms did not appear to increase across escalating doses from 10 to 30 to 50 grams per serving as compared to the placebo group. We had assumed the higher doses would cause concerns, particularly given the doses were consumed in a single, liquid serving (dissolved in apple juice). But study participants reported only mild or no symptoms at all. The tapioca fiber was well tolerated by participants and far exceeded our expectations.
The findings have been published to ensure transparency, and the results clearly demonstrate that FiberSMART is well tolerated in healthy adults, even at levels approaching twice the recommended daily intake.”
Sugar reduction (and versatility) start here
FiberSMART is a low-glycemic, non-GMO resistant dextrin with prebiotic properties available from tapioca or corn, conventional, or certified organic. Globally recognized as a fiber and known for its high preference rate among consumers since its market introduction in 2015, FiberSMART has low consistent water activity and associated unique distribution of polymers.
“Pulling sugar out of products is a focus for everyone in the food industry. But if you replace ingredients with something that causes gut distress, that bad experience may cause even your most loyal buyers to go elsewhere. We say ‘sugar reduction starts here’ for a reason. Because no other fiber comes close to its tolerance levels, FiberSMART is the right choice. It is also easy to work with, often improving product consistency and production run times,” comments Jarmul.
He adds, “We recognize that some of the ingredients you’re replacing are there for specific reasons. Perhaps they’re used to overcome functional challenges. Anderson Advanced Ingredients has a customer-first philosophy. Whether you need help cleaning up a label, solving a functional problem within a product, developing a custom ingredient or you just want the best-tasting product on the market, our team of experts is available to you.”
For additional information, visit AdvancedIngredients.com.
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