Starches & Fibers, the Complex Carbohydrates We Need
Starch and fiber are both complex carbohydrates, but your body processes them in very different ways — one provides energy, while the other meets non-energy nutritional needs. Most people should get 40 to 60 percent of total calories from non-fiber carbohydrates and eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories consumed. And a big part of that can come from bread. That is why ingredient producers strive to create fibers and starches that can be easily included in bakery recipes. This adds to their functional benefits, which are improving texture and taste.
Consumers, while more savvy lately and interested in reading labels and understanding ingredients, largely don’t know that both starch and fiber are carbs that are essential to human nutrition. Carbohydrates are labeled as either complex or simple, and starch and fiber are the two types of complex carbs. All carbs are made of sugar molecules, but simple carbs such as table sugar, honey and lactose from milk contain just one or two molecules, while complex carbs, found in potatoes, beans and grains, contain three or more molecules. This means that your body must work harder to convert complex carbs into glucose, or blood sugar, which you use for fuel. In contrast, glucose from simple carbs — also referred to as sugars — is absorbed rapidly into the bloodstream. Simple carbs typically provide little nutrition other than energy, and are thus dubbed “empty calories.”
Fiber, also called cellulose, provides the structure for cell walls in plants — you’ll find it in vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains. Although fiber is a carbohydrate, your body can’t break it down into glucose or any other usable energy source; therefore, it technically contains no calories. However, fiber still plays an important role in nutrition. It aids in digestion, encouraging a healthy digestion. Fiber is classified as either soluble or insoluble, and soluble fiber, found in oatmeal and bran, may also help maintain healthy cholesterol levels.
Starches are carbohydrates that plants store as energy for later use, just as humans store glycogen, a form of glucose, in our muscles for reserve fuel. When people consume starchy foods such as grains and peas, enzymes in the body help break the starches down into usable glucose. Starch digestion begins with salivary enzymes in the mouth, which is why bread begins to taste sugary as you chew it.
Adding starches and fibers to bakery products is one way of bridging the fiber gap, a public health concern that worries both Europe and North America. Ingredient companies have recently launched new starch and fiber ranges that help bakers improve recipes.
With Snow Prebiotic Fibres, GoodMills Innovation launched a unique combination of seven different dietary fibers for use in bread, rolls, sandwiches and more. In addition to their microbial benefits, they also allow for the creation of products with great taste, appearance and bite. Snow Prebiotic Fibres promise light-coloured, high-fiber baked goods with a mild taste – without any sensory loss. They have a beneficial effect on the microbiome thanks to a sophisticated combination of specific dietary fibers.