Tag: fermentable fiber

Last month’s investigation into the metabolic effects of chickpea fiber showed that the nutritional powerhouse offers even greater benefits to the intestinal flora that we all want more of: Bifidobacterium. One of the key attributes to chickpeas is a unique type of fermentable fiber known as alpha-galactooligosccharide or alpha GOS. This fermentable fiber demonstrated consistent increases in butyrate production and had a number of favorable effects on a variety of biomarkers such as triglyceride, serum glucose, insulin, and glycated proteins that reflect processes such as insulin sensitivity and inflammation. While most fermentable fibers offer at least some benefit, more research is supporting the importance of fiber synergy as to offer food sources to multiple families of critical bacteria. This has led to a greater level of appreciation for the fiber found in whole plants as opposed to the types that are often added to fortified foods. None of the fiber found in Functional Formularies formulas is added; it is all naturally occurring in our organic, whole food ingredients. Continue reading →