Easily said, not so easily done. Syndrome X refers to an amalgamation of seemingly linked chronic disorders that appear in later life, such as obesity, Type II diabetes, high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia. This is good to know because, according to Slavin, the incidence of Syndrome X is expanding and reaching younger and younger consumers. Now, however, much of the focus is shifting to minor components, such as phytates, saponins, letins, lignans and other phytoestrogenic components. The nutritional community is beginning to wonder whether it is these components that are responsible for some of the disease prevention benefits of dietary fibers, such as cancer and coronary heart disease prevention.
Times are a changin'.
The key is resistant starches, the recently recognized wunder category of grain-based ingredients. Resistant starches, explains Slavin, are starches configured in such a way that they resist digestion until they reach the lower intestine. The great advantage resistant starches have is that they tend to be far more easily incorporated into food formulations than other gritty, scratchy classes of dietary fiber. Generally, dietary fiber is at its finest in the lower intestine. It is in the lower intestine that dietary fibers appear to stimulate the immune system, providing protection against intestinal and other systemic infections.