Studying the relationship between fiber and pediatric GI disorders is important because increased fiber intake is the most commonly prescribed ‘fix’ for constipated children. There are OTC medications and recommended dosages for pediatric fiber supplements, but the prevalence of pediatric GI disorders and visits to the pediatrician for constipation and other conditions warrants more research.

What kind of fiber and how much should children take when they are having trouble with GI disorders?

What is a Functional GI Disorder?

Medical researchers at UNC School of Medicine succinctly describe functional GI disorders as “common disorders that are characterized by persistent and recurring GI symptoms.” This can include many conditions, the most common of which are:

• IBS
• Functional constipation
• Functional diarrhea
• Dyspepsia
• Functional nausea and/or vomiting

Functional instances of GI disorders are common reasons for children being unable to attend school due to ‘feeling sick.’

How Fiber Helps GI Disorders

Fiber is regularly recommended to help treat functional GI disorders. Fibers are categorized as soluble or insoluble; soluble fibers are fermented in the colon whereas insoluble fibers are subject to limited fermentation. 

Soluble fiber absorbs water, forming a gel after digestion. The added water is thought to make the stool softer and easier to pass. While most foods have both soluble and insoluble fiber, the relative amounts provided differ.  Common foods that are high in soluble fiber include: 

• Oatmeal
• Barley
• Beans
• Lentils
• Peas. 

Insoluble fibers have a bulking action and can only be fermented in the colon producing gas and worsening the IBS symptoms. Insoluble fibers do not get broken down completely in the body and help food pass more quickly through the intestines. Foods high in insoluble fiber include: 

• Wheat bran
• Whole grains
• Some vegetables

The outcomes of fiber treatments for FC and IBS are fairly positive. 25% of children with FC or IBS continue to experience symptoms through adulthood. Approximately 40% of children that have medical consultations for FC continue to require treatment for at least five years.

Specific Fiber Treatments

The recent study on fiber and functional GI disorders focused on looking at a combination of several sources of fiber:

• Corn fiber
• Partially Hydrolyzed Guar gum
• Glucomannan
• Inulin (not insulin)
• Oligosaccharides
• Cocoa husk
• Psyllium fiber

Past research has speculated that a combination of different fiber types, including short and long-chain fibers may be a more effective approach for controlling constipation, due action on different parts of the colon; this is why 7 different sources of fiber were used in the recent research.

Research results noted the frequency of bowel movements was significantly increased in participants in the fiber group, as well as improvements in stool consistency. Side benefits included children with access to high-fiber snacks having more daily fiber intake than those who did not consume snacks with the added fiber.

While the results of the study were positive, researchers note that successful outcomes most likely rely on strict adherence to regular fiber consumption. Long-term studies are currently underway to observe the effects of standardized fiber consumption.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

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One of the most important pieces of information that have come out of recent research is how diet and the gut can affect inflammation. The inflammation affected is not just gut-related–it can affect other parts of the body (i.e., systemic inflammation) and even affect the autoimmune system.

A quick note on inflammation: inflammation is a natural bodily response to potentially harmful issues (infections, broken bones, etc.). This article is referring to excessive inflammation that can lead to chronic inflammation and related conditions.

Inflammation & Diets

Unhealthy diets (high-fat, high-sugar, processed foods, etc.) can lead to dramatic increases in body weight, which can lead to inflammation on its own. Weight gain and subsequently increased stress on the body, however, is not the only dietary factor responsible for inflammatory issues.

Highly processed foods found in many unhealthy diets contain high levels of sugar, sodium, fat, and other potentially damaging nutritional agents. The ingredients in processed foods are hard for the body to properly digest, which can eventually lead to increased levels of inflammation or even chronic inflammatory conditions.

Ongoing research is figuring out exactly how specific types of foods and levels of nutrients in food affect inflammation in the body. Research into gut-related inflammation is looking not only at digestive inflammatory conditions (Crohn’s, IBS, Ulcerative Colitis), but other inflammatory conditions found outside of the digestive system.

Diets that Help with Inflammation

Research has shown that specific diets can help reduce inflammation in the body and help with inflammatory gut or bowel conditions. What dietary changes have been shown to help with inflammation? Primarily plant-based diets.  Plants have many properties that can positively affect inflammatory health issues (among others).

Many fruits and vegetables contain an abundance of antioxidants. Antioxidants can help support healthy cellular growth and the management of damaged tissue. Along with plant-based foods, recent studies have shown that many nuts have been associated with reduced inflammation as well.

Popular foods to avoid when on a diet to mitigate diet-related inflammation include:

• Highly-processed foods
• Processed red meat (hot dogs)
• Foods high in sugar (soda, candy, etc)
• Fried foods (fried chicken, donuts, French fries)
• High in saturated fat oils

Some highly processed foods contain several things on this list (foods high in sugar and deep-fried, etc.) and should be avoided for inflammatory health.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

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Can diets or nutraceutical supplementation lead to chronic inflammation? Recent research has looked into how diets that are high in anti-inflammatory agents may affect natural inflammatory processes including aging.

Aging & Inflammation

Generally, systemic inflammation occurs at increased levels as the body ages. The degree of inflammation one experiences with age can be affected by countless factors introduced by environments and lifestyles. Narrowing down the key factors that lead to chronic inflammation due to diet and lifestyle is difficult.

What is known, however, is that the increase in systemic inflammation due to age may end up stimulating the development of medical conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, and various autoimmune diseases, among others. This has led researchers to investigate how diets affect not just inflammation but also the effect of systemic inflammation on various diseases and conditions.

Effects of Diets on Inflammation

Diets in the United States are calorically very high. This, coupled with more sedentary lifestyles and has contributed to high obesity rates and other metabolic conditions. Western diets have shown an association between high glycation end products going along with the pro-inflammatory properties present in the diet.

Diseases like cancer show that only ~5-10% of the disease is caused by genetics while ~90% is caused by environmental factors, like diets & nutrition (percentages will vary for different diseases & conditions). The inflammation properties observed before and during a person getting a specific disease are helping researchers make headway on how a diet affects inflammation.

Diets high in saturated fats have shown to be more likely to contribute to high inflammatory levels than diets with low levels of saturated fat. Researchers have also noted that changing the intake of one food or food group is not enough to really affect inflammation levels. Adding foods with anti-inflammatory properties to a diet may be the solution.

The general idea in many ongoing studies is that adding foods with high anti-inflammatory activity may be able to help balance out the potential damage caused by foods with high inflammatory activity.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

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Studies on the connection between diet and reducing the symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases have shown a strong relationship between the two. The optimal composition for the gut microbiome has yet to be determined, but information on specific diets affecting chronic inflammatory diseases is beginning to take shape.

High-Fiber Dietary Impacts on Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

A recent study published by the Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center focused on low-fiber diets, high-fiber diets, and vegetarian & vegan diets. Participants in the study all suffered from chronic inflammatory diseases including cardiovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, type-2 diabetes, and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Measurements of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) were recorded for data.

For the low-fiber diet trials, participants changed their diets to match the specified low-fiber content. Research participants with low fiber diets did not show a significant clinical difference on affecting chronic inflammatory diseases when compared to control groups.

High-fiber dietary trials followed two different diets; diets with specified higher fiber content and Mediterranean diets. Study participants on the Mediterranean diet show a non-significant reduction of CRP. The Mediterranean participant results noted a trend towards improved gut microbiome composition. It was also noted that participants with IBD on the Mediterranean diet showed no clinical improvement.

High-fiber participants who were not on a Mediterranean diet showed a significant reduction in CRP. The high-fiber diet participants were noted to have improved microbiome compositions after the study was completed.

Vegan and vegetarian diets resulted in significant improvements for disease-related issues. Noted improvements related to chronic inflammatory diseases included less pain and subjective improvement of swollen or tender joints. Vegan and vegetarian diets also resulted in lower overall cholesterol levels (both LDL & HDL).

High-Fiber Clinical Benefits on Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

The largest takeaway from this study is that high-fiber dietary interventions seem more effective when it comes to improving conditions and symptoms associated with chronic inflammatory diseases. High-fiber plant-based diets (vegan & vegetarian) showed the most significant results in helping with chronic inflammatory conditions.

Fiber supplements were included in this review, with findings that <10 g/d did not lead to significant effects, while supplements of >10 g/d fiber and those with probiotics (e.g., synbiotics) showed more promise, although more data are needed.  

The study highlighted the potential importance of higher fiber intake for improving symptoms of chronic inflammatory diseases. Microbial diversity was also noted as an effect of high-fiber diets, resulting in a more diverse gut microbiome.

One finding by the authors was the need for more data on the effect of different types of fiber and fiber supplements and mediation of chronic inflammation by the microbiome for other conditions, such as CVD.

Research at Biofortis

Biofortis is dedicated to protecting consumer health throughout the world by delivering a wide range of testing and consultancy services to the food, supplement, and nutrition industries. Biofortis supports this mission in two ways—through clinical trials and sensory and consumer insights testing. We specialize in clinical research targeting foods, ingredients, and dietary supplements that affect body structures, function, and overall health. Contact us with any clinical trial or scientific consulting needs.

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