Dietary fiber content of selected foods

Dietary fiber measurements are essential to assessment of the potential therapeutic and preventive effects of fiber intake. Ideally, dietary fiber analyses should measure all components--soluble polysaccharides, noncellulosic polysaccharides, cellulose, and lignin--and the constituent sugars of the soluble and noncellulosic polysaccharides. We modified existing techniques to measure reproducibly the total dietary fiber, polysaccharide, and lignin components and the sugar constituents of selected foods. Soluble-fiber content as percentage of total dietary fiber for groups of foods averaged 32% for cereal products, 32% for vegetables, 25% for dried beans, and 38% for fruits. Lignin content, estimated gravimetrically, was approximately 1.4 g/100 g dry wt for 24 foods. Detailed fiber measurements are critical for evaluating the potential health benefits of dietary fiber intake.