While diet has become increasingly sophisticated with enhanced living standards, imbalanced diets result in numerous digestive disorders and lifestyle-induced diseases like constipation, intestinal cancer, obesity, diabetes, etc. For instance, in 2019, digestive disorders constituted almost 375,170 deaths in the Region of the Americas, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). Therefore, functional foods like dietary fibers are in huge demand. As per Inkwood Research, the global dietary fibers market is set to register a CAGR of 8.62% in terms of revenue and 8.58% in terms of volume during the forecast period, 2023-2032.
The consumption of dietary fiber-rich food is evaluated to reduce the LDL cholesterol, increase stool bulk, enhance laxation, and decrease glycemic & insulin response. In addition, dietary fibers have facilitated the base for associating high-fiber diets with minimized risk of many chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, bowel cancer, constipation, obesity, colonic diverticulosis, etc. Therefore, dietary fibers are said to aid in disease prevention and health maintenance.
Accordingly, our blog briefly examines the relevant and ongoing multidimensional facets of dietary fibers:
Dietary fibers in the Food & Beverage Industry
Foods undergo different physical, thermal, enzymatic, and chemical treatments during processing that directly or indirectly impact the total fiber composition. Similarly, incorporating fiber-rich ingredients and products (dietary) can influence the sensory attributes, rheological behavior, texture, and consistency of the end products. As a result, there is an ongoing trend of finding new dietary fiber sources for utilization in the food & beverage industry.
Our analysis of the global dietary fibers market by application includes pharmaceuticals, animal feed, and food & beverage, both in terms of revenue and volume.
Foods
When added to food products, dietary fibers offer improvement and modification in texture, shelf-life, and sensory characteristics of foods, attributed to their thickening, anticlumping, anti-sticking, fat mimetic, gel-forming, and water-binding capacities. However, a dietary fiber must meet the ‘food ingredient’ standard satisfactorily to be included as a food product.
For instance, with regard to functionality, citrus fiber can play several roles. It can be used to add color and manage moisture in fat replacement. Also, it may be used as a tool for enhancing texture, as a natural antioxidant, and as a bulking agent in reduced-sugar applications.
Furthermore, bakery products have transitioned from adding wheat flour & unrefined cereals to dietary products from different sources, giving them additional nutritional quality. Dietary fibers incorporated into bakery products prolong their freshness, given their capacity to retain water, which further minimizes economic losses. For instance, they can modify bread’s softness, springiness, firmness, and loaf volume. Whereas they enhance texture, fat binding, water binding, and cooking output in meat products.
Beverages
Incorporating dietary fibers in beverages & drinks raises their stability and viscosity. In this case, soluble fibers, since these are more dispersible in water than insoluble fibers. Such soluble fibers include ß-glucans, fractions of grains and multi-fruits, polydextrose, pectins, and cellulose beet-root fiber. Also, they aid in improving the chemical & physical properties since the beverage particles get uniformly distributed, preventing stratification & precipitation, and enhancing stability. Therefore, such functional beverages reduce the need for other high-calorific foods, promote weight management, and result in satiety.
According to a National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) article, oat fiber can be effectively utilized in preparing milkshakes, sports drinks, iced tea, wine, cappuccino, etc. Also, an April 2018 report by PreScouter states that inulin is evaluated as an ideal ingredient for use in instant beverages, particularly ‘functional’ beverages. Inulin is a soluble fiber found in plants that helps improve digestive health, regulate diabetes, promote weight loss, and relieve constipation. Similarly, the growing inclination toward artificial sweeteners to enhance nutrition, taste, and texture has propelled the demand for soluble fibers like chicory inulin, which contributes to the global dietary fibers market growth.
As per our analysis, Beta-Glucan is the fastest-growing soluble fiber in the market in terms of volume, estimated to register a CAGR of 11.23% by 2032.
Dietary Fibers & Nutraceuticals: Sustaining the Transitioning Diet Health Paradigm
Chronic diseases are on the rise. Obesity is now a globally recognized complex disease, whereas heart diseases continue to be a leading cause of death worldwide. Consumers have therefore embarked on a ‘prevention-better-than-cure’ course, seeking functional and alternative food habits for sustenance. In this regard, nutraceuticals have gained prominence over the years.
Nutraceuticals, a hybrid of ‘nutrition’ and ‘pharmaceutical,’ in essence, are food or components of food that play a significant role in maintaining and modifying normal physiological functions. Food products used as nutraceuticals can be categorized as dietary fibers, antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, prebiotics, etc. These aid in combating some severe problems of the century, including obesity, cholesterol, diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, etc.
The use of nutraceuticals has a long history. However, the recent scientific evidence supplementing its medicinal and nutritional characteristics has rendered it an emerging class of natural products that blur the line between food and drugs. As a result, nutraceuticals of plant & animal origins hold lucrative opportunities for food industries to create novel food products.
Accordingly, food and pharmaceutical companies are investing in the nutraceutical industry, given the logistical, regulatory, and technological challenges. For instance, Nestle has put up a venture capital fund for investing in companies in their nascent stage of nutraceutical businesses. Similarly, Roquette is engaged in offering non-viscous soluble fiber under its brand, ‘NUTRIOSE,’ for the nutraceutical, pharmaceutical, and food industries.
Furthermore, nutraceuticals are swiftly replacing pharmaceuticals in preventing and managing acute and chronic health problems. They project immense scope to flourish due to their preventive and curative properties. Besides, the shifting consumer interest toward healthy dietary patterns has surged the interest in nutraceuticals. This was evidently in focus during and post-COVID-19, which influenced immunity-building through dietary supplements. Therefore, the ongoing diet health transition is lucrative to global dietary fibers market growth.
By Akhil Nair
FAQs:
Which is the fastest-growing region in the global dietary fibers market?
North America is the fastest-growing region in the global dietary fibers market in terms of revenue and volume.
What are some good sources of insoluble dietary fibers?
Green beans, cauliflower, nuts, beans, potatoes, wheat bran, whole-wheat flour, etc., are among the good sources of insoluble dietary fibers.