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Weight Loss Forum / General Topics / May 2007fiber question
Fiber is cellulose which is not digestible even though it is a kind of carbohydrate, I understand but we cannot digest it like cattle, etc. can because we don't have a cellulase enzyme to break it down. So why is it that all the commercial fiber has calories, and not just a few either, but significant calories? dkw "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Fiber is cellulose which is not digestible even though it is a kind of > carbohydrate, I understand but we cannot digest it like cattle, etc. > can because we don't have a cellulase enzyme to break it down. So why > is it that all the commercial fiber has calories, and not just a few > either, but significant calories? Fiber has energy, calories are energy. Eat wood and it has calories as well. This is why low carbers often deduct fiber from total carb counts to get net carb counts. > "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > calories as well. This is why low carbers often deduct fiber > from total carb counts to get net carb counts. Nope, I don't think fiber has calories. Here is just one of many sources stating that: http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/nov99/943382268.Bc.r.html The answer must be that they add other things to the fiber to make it palatable. Too bad. I would rather try using a fiber by adding it to my cereal. I could always sweeten it with Splenda. dkw "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Nope, I don't think fiber has calories. It's nice that you think that. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=calorimeter+difference+method+fiber+carbohy drate&btnG=Google+Search Feel free to read about calorie counts and how they get carb grams. > The answer must be that they add other things to the fiber to make it > palatable. Too bad. Alternately the answer must be you don't get how calorie counts and carb grams are calculated. As a low fatter who avoids low carb it isn't surprising that you have not yet learned this basic lesson of how carb counts work. > I would rather try using a fiber by adding it to > my cereal. Not a bad plan. > "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > > > "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] > > Not a bad plan. Some of us must just not that cud chewing ability to digest the fiber. I still say it doesn't matter if its a carb or not if it isn't digested. Strange there can be such a controversy. Some authorities are obviously mistaken. Either you can digest fiber or you can't. Perhaps it even works like some say drinking diet cola works. Since diet cola has zero calories, but you drink it cold, somebody determined that it TAKES 12.5 calories to heat your body back up. Celery, lettuce, cabbage, cucumbers, and I have even seen apples listed as part of the group are thought by some to have negative calories, meaning it takes MORE energy to digest the food than there are calories in it. This is controversial, but the diet coke determination seems valid, although I don't know about how many calories would be needed to reheat your core. Strange, something that seems so basic can have different opionions coming from experts. Whatever works though. I know I get to eat a LOT of food on my low-fat diet and that is what's essential to me. dkw "dkw12...@yahoo.com" <dkw12...@yahoo.com> wrote: > Either you can digest fiber or you can't. False dichotomy and the source of confusion in some. Insoluble can't be digested, unless you're a termite or similar animal. Humans don't have enzymes to digest it and neither does any of our intestinal fiber. Insoluble fiber has calories that can never be absorbed, and that is reflected on labels. Soluble fiber can't be digested by enzymes included in the human genome but there is more to a human body than the human genome. Soluble fiber can be digested by enzymes in the genomes of our intestinal bacteria. This means that soluble fiber makes it to the colon, encounters our intestinal bacteria, starts getting digested. Some of the resulting sugar is eaten by our bacteria (whether that counts as nutrition to us is not a topic worth addressing). Some of the resulting sugar is fermented to alcohol and CO2 by our intestinal yeast. Some of the resulting sugar is eaten by various microbes releasing CH4 (combine to form farts, beans are high in soluble fiber). Some of the resulting sugar is absorbed by our colon and does become caloric to the part of our bodies that are in the human genome. Some exits the colon and is wasted. How much of soluble fiber is caloric becomes a question very difficult to answer. So labels punt on the question. Fiber has energy, calories are determined in a calorimeter, fiber calories are on the total calories. Most labels in the US keep fiber carbs in the other category, most labels in Europe deduct fiber calories, some labels from either area don't follow the local standard. > Fiber is cellulose which is not digestible even though it is a kind of > carbohydrate, I understand but we cannot digest it like cattle, etc. > can because we don't have a cellulase enzyme to break it down. So why > is it that all the commercial fiber has calories, and not just a few > either, but significant calories? dkw And how much of it in cals goes undigested? Which is another reason cal counting is near worthless.  Signaturehttp://www.steppenwolf.com/lyr/mnnster.html |
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