Fiber has a range of healthy benefits, and manufacturers are stretching fiber’s potential applications, even as Americans continue to face a fiber consumption deficit.
Teens are not consuming enough whole-grain foods, according to a recent study from the University of Minnesota at St. Paul, featured in the January 2012 issue of Food Nutrition & Science. The study analyzed adolescents aged 12-19 in the “National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey” (NHANES, 1999-2004); it found less than one third of teens consumed more than .5 whole-grain ounce-equivalents per day.
Scooter’s Coffee House recently launched a better-for-you hot cereal. Healthy Harvest Hot Multi-Grain Cereal may look and taste like traditional oatmeal, but it is made with ConAgra Mills’ Sustagrain, an all-natural, 100% whole-grain product that has three times the fiber of oats, says the company.
A daily helping of porridge and two other servings of whole-grain foods can dramatically lower the risk of heart disease, researchers in Aberdeen have discovered.
Americans continue to see weight-control foods and beverages on store shelves, with some products ridding themselves of negatively perceived ingredients, while others add such benefits as satiety and healthier positionings.
