Sudha Chandran: Biography and Profile

Sudha Chandran: Biography and Profile Sudha Chandran On January 28th, 1984, Sudha Chandran stood behind the curtain, staring at the crowd nervously and waiting for the crowd to settle down. It had been a while since she had danced on the stage. The accident had not only left her dejected but also left her fans sceptical about her ability to return to the sacred dance floor. How can a single-legged person dance Bharatnatyam, one of the most intricate Indian dances? She proved everyone wrong. Her dance left the audience spellbound. Sudha was known to have this captivating effect since childhood. The young Sudha was a plethora of talent. She was born on September 21st, 1964 in Mumbai. She is the only child of K.D. Chandran and Mrs. Thangam. Her mother was an exceptionally good singer and her father was an art lover. They instilled in her the love for singing and dancing. Sudha started dancing at the tender age of 3. Seeing how well Sudha was dancing on her own, her father took her to the famous dance school of Mumbai, ‘Kala Sadan’. The principal of the school refused to admit Sudha as she was below the age-limit. Her father pleaded with the principal to at least see Sudha dance and then make the decision. Needless to say, the principal was mesmerised with Sudha’s dance and immediately admitted her in the school. Here, her talent was nurtured under the guidance of her teachers. By the age of 17, she had already performed 75 stage shows and gained popularity for her effortless and graceful dancing. Her parents were her support system. They were very particular about her studies and wanted her to be the best in whatever she did. Her mother left her job and stayed at home so that Sudha’s upbringing was not compromised. She made sure that Sudha went to school, completed her homework, went for the dance class, ate healthy and slept on time. There was no scope of lack of discipline in Sudha’s life. Life was not always dull for her. She was always full of life and made life-long friends during her college days. They went to watch movies together and have road-side food. Life took a sudden turn on 5th May, 1981. She was travelling overnight for a pilgrimage with her parents when her bus collided with a truck resulting in the immediate death of the driver and severe injuries to the passengers. Sudha’s legs were stuck in the wreckage. She was admitted to a government hospital in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. Initially, the doctors thought that she had a minor fracture and treated the leg by putting a plaster on it. It turned out to be a huge mistake. When she went for a check-up to a hospital in Chennai, then Madras, the doctors found out that a wound had not been cleaned properly and, with the plaster on, it had developed gangrene. Whenever gangrene develops in the body, the body part has to be amputated to save the person’s life. Sudha’s leg was amputated in order to save her life. It left Sudha’s heart filled with sadness and her body without a limb. For a dancer, especially of her calibre, it was a major setback. As she couldn’t dance anymore she put all her efforts and energy into studies. She had already finished her B.A degree and was pursuing her M.A in Economics from Mithibai College, Mumbai. The family was heartbroken. Her family had dreamt big for their only daughter. However, no one showed Sudha any pity. They might have been hurting inside, but when they sat together they would talk as if nothing had happened. This helped in avoiding any scope of sympathy and pity for her disability. It was a tremendous attempt to treat her like a person without disability. Through these trying times, her major source of inspiration was her father. He never showed any sign of pity on her daughter and still expected her to have a good life. She learnt to draw strength from her pain. She tried to walk with the help of the crutches as she refused to use a wheelchair. Six months after the amputation she came across an article which changed her life and staged the rebirth of an outstanding dancer. Dr. Sethi was gaining worldwide popularity for manufacturing artificial legs known as the ‘Jaipur Foot’. She could manage to get an appointment with Dr. Sethi, but only after a week because of his busy schedule. Meanwhile, she convinced her parents and set off for Jaipur. Dr. Sethi was stunned by her determination. She refused to leave for Mumbai without getting a foot. He listened intently and understood her requirements. Due to many positions of the foot while performing Bharatnatyam, she needed a more flexible foot than there was. Dr.Sethi created the foot with many nuts and bolts so that it could be bent in any position. When Dr. Sethi presented her with one of the kind foot, Sudha asked him if she could dance again. Dr. Sethi wore the foot and did two dance steps to demonstrate what the foot could do. Sudha knew that the foot would give her, her life back. She practiced dance, wearing the artificial foot, for several hours a day. At times, the pain would be excruciating and often it would bleed, especially when the movements of the foot became fast. But, that didn’t stop Sudha for making her dream a reality; once again. She was surrounded by people who believed in her, especially Dr. Sethi and her parents. Dr. Sethi believed in her and her strength to withstand any adversity. With the support of her loved ones and Dr.Sethi, her confidence and desire to perform on the stage started to return. On 28th January, 1984, after two years of dance practice with the ‘Jaipur Foot’, she performed on the stage at the ‘South India Welfare Society’ of Mumbai. By the time Sudha finished her stellar performance, the entire audience stood up to see the dance of willpower. They could not imagine that a person with an artificial limb could perform such delicate and fast-moving steps. According to Sudha, ‘Once I was on stage, I forgot about my artificial foot. I could only remember that I was performing after a long time and that I had to give my best. The audience’s energy got transformed into my energy.’ Her life inspires people from all walks of life. Ramoji Rao, a Telgu producer approached her with a script titled, ‘Mayuri’ which was loosely based on Sudha’s life. She agreed to play the lead actress and overnight she became a star after the release of the film in 1984. She was presented with a special award ‘Silver Lotus’ and a sum amount of 5,000/- for her role in the film ‘Mayuri’ at the 33rd National Film Festival. In 1986, Ramoji Rao made a Hindi version of the film and titled it ‘Nache Mayuri’. The film was enjoyed by the audiences all across the globe, adding to her popularity. Through ‘Mayuri’, her inspirational story was able to reach out to millions of people across the globe. She believes that everything happens for a reason. She did not let one setback in life ruin her future, â€Å"The accident was a blessing in disguise because without it I would have been just like millions of other dancers. But, dancing with the Jaipur foot makes me one of a kind.† Over the years, she started concentrating more on her acting career. She became part of the small screen and film songs. During the shooting of one of her films, she met Ravi Dang, an assistant director back then. Since then, they have been inseparable. They both provided emotional support to each other. Ravi Dang now manages her dance academy called Natya Mayuri Sudhachandran Dance Academy which is in Ville Parle, Mumbai. She has also established herself as an actress in both on the small screen and in the films. Her name will always be synonymous with courage and dedication. If one thing can be learnt from her life, it is to never give up. Word Galaxy: adversity misfortune; harsh conditions amputate to surgically remove a limb for medical reasons calibre ability; talent excruciating extremely painful; unbearable gangrene decomposition of body tissue due to obstructed circulation or bacterial infection. intricate complex; elaborate sacred holy; revered spellbound awestruck stellar outstanding trying times period of time of hardships or difficulties Fresh Facts: Prior to the accident, she had received two important awards: Nritya Mayuri from the Dance Academy and Bharatnatyam and Nav Jyoti from the Telgu Academy. Dr. Sethi is a specialist in artificial limbs. He is also a recipients of the Raman Magasassay Award. She won the National Film Award – Special Jury Award for her role in Mayuri. The Trend Of Bakery: Justo Eat The Trend Of Bakery: Justo Eat Justo Eat is a bakery with experienced bakers serving all customers with undivided passion. The bakery has a wide range of products for the customers, from a simple mini cheese tart to the often sought-after ice cream cakes. The bakery strives to use only the best ingredient in the market in order to create quality products as ingredient plays an important role to baking mouth-watering delicious food. When the trend of bakery started growing in early 20s, Alvin Lau flew over to Singapore to learn the skills of baking from the established Bread Story. After several years of training, he came back to Malaysia in the hopes of using his skills to teach fellow Malaysians the fine art of bakery besides to create a better living. The first Justo Eat was formed in 2007 in Teluk Intan with a small number of employees, with most of the operations managed by him. From a humble beginning in Teluk Intan, the bakery expanded quickly to Bidor, Batu Gajah, and several regions in Perak. With 4 bakery and 1 bakery academy to boast in a short span of 6 years, Justo Eat has managed to achieve plenty that most could only dream of. Breaking sales of more than RM100,000 and also having the ability to achieve break-even point in a short span of 6 months, Just To Eat bakery is indeed intriguing. Hence, we have chosen this bakery for our research due to its remarkable marketing strategy and also the strategic management of the company. Problems that rose during the course of business and how , using sound marketing strategies, the company managed to stay competitive in the industry, all these would be discussed in the following pages, altogether with the discussion of the bakery industry. 2.0 The Environment Bread is an essential item in all households of Malaysia. It is a necessity that sells very well even in the times of financial turmoil. Though rice is the staple starch for most of the Malaysia population, bread still serves the Malaysia family as it is a choice for breakfast due to the nutrition present in bread. The production of bakery products consists of a few vital components, primarily, sugar, and wheat flour. Unlike wheat flour, the price of sugar over the years has increased ever since the government began cutting subsidies in January 2010. This has caused a significant of 58.6 percent from Rm1.45 per kilogramme (Ariffin, 2012). The hike in sugar price has caused headaches in the bakery industry since sugar is a vital component in the production. However, on the 3rd of February 2012, the government has signed a long-term sugar supply deal that would peg the sugar price of RM2.30 for 3 years, stretching from January 2012 to 2014. Hence, till then the price of sugar would not fluctuate and this is very favorable to the business. The value of bakery products in 2003 reached a whopping RM2 billion with an annual growth of RM65 million over the previous year and it is expected to grow by 4% per annum to reach RM2.9 billion in 2006 (Nordin, Simeh, and Shariff, 2008). There was also a growth in production of bakery products by 1.39%, from 259, 800 tons in 2009 to 263,400 tons in 2010. The increase of production and value of the bakery product is due to the increased use of bakery products by Malaysians due to the rising disposable income and a faster pace of life (Shah, 2011) in the last five to seven years. In 5th July 2012, the Danish firm Palsgaard announced its plan to build an emulsifier plant in Malaysia which will be completed in the first half of 2013 (Culliney, 2012). This announcement further reinforces the bakery industry of Malaysia; allowing greater efficiency of the bread production. The rise of boutique bakery such as BreadTalk, Free Mori, or The Loaf also sparked an increased interest of the public towards bakery products. This latest development of the bakery industry has come to the stage where the choice of buying is not just between white and brown, but a variety of factors due to the emergence of exotic range created by these boutique bakeries. Despite the positive business climate for the bakery industry in Malaysia, the industry still lacks of proper baker association or education that is needed to guide and teach Malaysians regarding this field (Bernama, 2011). Professional training modules need to be implemented in the country in order to create more varieties in the bakery industry and also to gain more knowledge regarding the field. A report released by Euromonitor shows that the retail value of all bakery products in Malaysia has increased from 651.3 million US dollars in 2006 to 742.16 million US dollars in 2011. With appropriate learning environment in Malaysia for the bakery industry, the Euromonitor forecasts that the retail value of bakery product in Malaysia will increase to 871.20 million US dollars in 2016. 3.0 The Industry Our research is based on a bakery store Justo Eat, thus the bakery industry of our assignment is based on the bakery industry in Malaysia, but it is of the bakery industry in Kampar, Teluk Intan, and Bidor instead since these places are where the bakery operates. Since the bakery is not available nationwide, hence, to include major competitors such as Breadtalk or Kings Confectionery which dominate the scene would be unnecessary since they do not provide a direct competition to the bakery in these places. Instead, we would be writing an analysis around these areas in order to provide a better understanding regarding the bakerys business situation. The threat of new competitor in the bakery industry in Perak is very low. This is because bakery is actually a specialized skill is hard to come by, therefore to compete in this industry, one needs to be a learnt baker with enough resources prior to his entry to the industry. It should also be noted that the bakery industry in Malaysia is still very new albeit it is very promising, hence there is not a well-known bakery organization that could produce qualified bakers in Malaysia (Bernama, 2011). Also, the start-up capital for this business is also pretty high, ranging from RM50,000 to RM100,000 for the price of the equipments needed for baking. These baking equipments and machineries are essential for business since the business need to produce thousands of breads everyday. The specialized set of skills needed for the business, coupled with an above average cost of start-up capital, make the threat of new competitors in the market rather low. However, the industry is not without competition. Just-To-Eat faces severe competition in places such as Teluk Intan from a local firm, Happy Angel. The Happy Angel bakery is an established bakery in this region, thus they have extensive resources to compete. Happy Angel bakery has competed with Justo Eat by opening branches wherever they operate in the hope of damaging Justo Eats sales overtime till it is forced to close down eventually. Happy Angel bakery also has competed directly with Justo Eat using pricing strategies in Teluk Intan due to the advantage it has from economies of scale. The price war between these two bakeries went on for a year with Justo Eat emerging as the ultimate winner, however, when Happy Angel bakery was forced to move out due to the diminishing profits. Since bread is a type of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG), theres a variety of substitutes. Substitutes of bread include instant noodles which relatively cost a little higher than bread, yet it provides a better taste for consumers. Whole wheat bread easily available in all convenience store is also a substitute for bread, especially for the health-conscious consumers due to the low level of carbohydrates. Consequently, instant food such as Twiggies and Roti Koko that can be conveniently consumed are substitute products too since it is cheaper. It should also be noted that the small packets of nasi lemak which makes a more filling meal for a cheaper price is also another good substitute product. These products relatively make business a lot harder for bakeries such as Justo Eat because not these products are cheaper, they also offer much better taste than bakeries. Bread is a product of low-involvement, therefore the bargaining power of buyers in the market does not provide a threat to the industry. The low prices of these products do not affect the customers significantly, hence the buyers alone do not impose a great pressure on the bakery. The real threat comes from the variety of substitute products instead since not only these alternate meal options provide a better taste, these products are also subject to price changes constantly. The bargaining power of suppliers is also limited due to high number of suppliers in the market. Suppliers for bakery usually supply raw material, hence these first tiers suppliers can easily be found in the market. Various suppliers compete for the large account of Justo Eat, therefore most often the power to bargain prices usually fall in the hands of this bakery instead. 4.0 Justo Eat Marketing strategies Objective of marketing strategy Product objectives of Justo Eat are desire to grow and enhancing the companys position in the market. Justo Eat is producing high variety of products and maintaining the high quality of products to differentiate and enhance itself in the market. The objective of promotion for Justo Eat is to create awareness among customers and attract more customers in order to increase demand. Pricing objective of Justo Eat is market-share objective. Justo Eat seeks to maximize sales and increase market share for its products. Justo Eat is having distribution channel objective of establishing direct sales contact with final customer to enhance networking generating good relationship for retaining customer. Target market The target market of Just-to-Eat is household who frequently purchase its products especially during special event of wedding and birthday celebration. Justo Eat has high coverage of target market because its product can be consumed daily and convenient to target market. The products being sold are also economically affordable to all customers with low price and full satisfied. Competitive advantage Justo Eat has competitive advantage of good networking with its supplier. The good relationships with suppliers enable Justo Eat to acquire high quality of ingredients with a reasonable cost. The high quality of ingredient will further ensure the product quality. In addition, good relationship with suppliers can help to avoid shortage of ingredients. Secondly, Justo Eat positioned as guaranteed high quality of products which can serve as an instrument to retain customers and carry positive word-of-mouth. Product The top sales product of Justo Eat is bun. Justo Eat bakery provides freshly prepared bakery buns at all times to ensure fresh baked goods are always available. As a result, fresh and high quality buns produced successfully attracting a lot of customer for frequent purchase. Buns such as hawaii pizza, hot dog chicken floss and garlic cheese are generating more sales compare with other bakery products such as cakes. Product line expansion is best to described Justo Eat product strategy. In order to expand the market and boost market share, Justo Eat believed that with wide variety of bread and cakes, different taste of customers can be tailored. In general, it also helps to retain the loyal customer by satisfying their desires through providing a wide variety of bread with good quality, innovative and creative design. For example, Justo Eat carrying variety of products such as fresh cream cakes in cheese series, chocolate and coffee series, fruit series, ice-cream series. In addition, Justo Eat also introduced a product line for festival series such as cartoon series, numbering, wedding and engage, and fullmoon series ( Justo Eat bakery, 2011). Promotion mix On every new opening of branch, Justo Eat rely on banner advertising to grab customer attention. The orange colour of banner can actually brings Justo Eat an identity. Banner is not the only method in advertising the bakery shop, Justo Eat also use brochure. Creative brochure with some important information about company are distributed. Brochures is a low cost advertising method that used by company to create awareness of company to target market. With good reputation, Justo Eat enable to form postive word-of-mouth among the customer. Satisfied customers will spread the positive comment and information about company to their acquaintances and peer groups when they are satisfied with the product purchased. This word-of-mouth is effective and efficient in free advertising. Pricing The price range set by Justo Eat for buns is RM1.20 to RM3.60, tart is RM2.20 and each slice of cake is ranged RM3.20 to RM4.50 while 1kg cakes is in price range of RM28 to RM40. In bakery industry, price war is inevitable, price setting of Justo Eat is relatively lower than competitors. This is useful for rapid market acceptance and maximum sales when come to time for intensive competition with other bakery. Competitor of Justo Eat, Happy Angel Cake House set 1kg of cakes in price range of RM30-RM45 which higher than Justo Eat. (Happy Angel, 2010) A powerful pricing tactics used by Justo Eat, RM 1 price promotions for all breads. Obviously, this is aiming to increase the sales and market share by attracting new customer. Nonetheless, the core advantage Justo Eat can gain from this price promotion is beating down its competitor. The lauching of RM1 per bread promotion is lasting for nine months in order to gain high profit and generated high market share. Competitors had been killed by Justo Eat in this critical period. Place Justo Eat is using direct market channel to reach the market. Justo Eat selling products only in their bakery shop. Justo Eat believed that direct contact with customer is the most effective way to satisfy them. Justo Eat also distribute products to some entertainment shop and campus cafeteria. However, this only serves as a promotional tactics to reach more potential customer to try on Justo Eat bread. As Justo Eat hold that the using of intermediate channel does not earn much profit to them. Justo Eat also invited Taiwanese for demostratation in its shops to attract customers and grab opportunity to learn and improve skills from them. Place strategy that using by Justo Eat is pull strategy which involves a massive word-of- mouth to create demand for product that draws the consumer to seek for it. Pull strategy can easily gather customer feedback on ways improving products. This strategy also can create high demand of products in a short time especially during the period of new open bakery branch. 5.0 Justo Eat challenges and its course of action Despite Justo Eats success, every business surely has to face some problems and challenges among the industry. The trend of the business will lead Justo Eat facing the lowest point of the career with the poorest sale performance due to bread is not the main course for people daily life especially Malaysian. People have other choices of foods such as noodle or rice. In addition, Justo Eat is small in size and the shop recognition is not popular in Malaysia compare to those famous bakeries such as Bread Story. Thus, although the sales is high at the beginning stage, yet the sales drop for a certain period when consumers no longer feel fresh with the bakery. This is a common phenomenon for all businesses. The dropped sales caused Justo Eat to rethink its strategy in order to bear the huge business expenses. As a store with low profit still need to pay for rental, water and electric bill, and employee wages. This kept a critical question for Justo Eat to maintain the business at this sho rt term trough trend. To maintain and even enhance the business during the trough point of the trend, Justo Eat expand the business by opening more branches in other area. The new branches can acquire more customers to gain more sales and eventually increase the popularity of Justo Eat. By doing this, the profitable branch can compensate the low sales branch. Instead of controlled by the trend, Justo Eat take initiative to open bakery academy which provide bakery course. The courses include one day self-interest DIY baking class, specialist certificate course, and professional diploma in baking and confectionery. Different courses had fulfill different student needs to learn a bakery skill. It also brings revenue to Justo Eat. The students who joined the courses in the first year of the commercement of bakery academy can enjoy the priority for partnering with Justo Eat to start own bakery business. By doing this, Justo Eat believed that their venture can be sustained despite the slow trend at certain peri od. In order to maintain the bread and cake business during the slow trend, Justo Eat put more effort in ensuring the performance at store level. The management emphasizes in cleanliness and hygiene of the shop. This helps the firm to earn some credits for the operating environment. It will influence perceive value of consumer, and then it will affect consumers purchasing decision making. Furthermore, the quality of product never been neglected and the best service is provided for customer. To establish employee morale in doing this, Justo Eat management had built up a clear reward performance system culture among the employee. Justo Eat only hire those employee with capability and good working attitude. Moreover, monthly meeting held in headquarter with the entire branch manager is necessary to understand every branch situation and giving opinion to improve the management team. During the meeting will discuss the problem facing and solution in different branch. Therefore Justo Eat can e nsure the employee provide the customer with best service to increase customer satisfaction so that positive word-of-mouth can be established among the customers. With this, customers are willing recommend the bakery to others. When considering a business, location is always a very critical element to be considered. The classic advice location, location, location is right on the mark for a business. The same is to Justo Eat, the location plays an important factor that lead to the firm success. Justo Eat bakery has the fifth branch in sitiawan early in the year of 2009. The opening of this branch had boom the bakery industry in sitiawan at the early stage. Justo Eat had ripped off majority of the market share from the competitors in that particular area. The shop was perceived to be placed at a good location as it located at the main street in Sitiawan and it was located beside The Store supermarket. Initially, Justo Eat believed that the exposure and the awareness of Justo Eat can be exploited from The Store as the bakery shop is viewable from The Store. Thus, the customer surely can notice and recognise the shop. Nonetheless, the shop location is believed to have satisfied number of pedestrian. However, few months later, the sales had dropped tremendously. Justo Eat overlooked the attractiveness of the location. Although there is many customer patronage The Store, but they are not guaranteed to visit the bakery shop. Whats more? Justo Eat overestimated the pedestrian traffic at the particular place. A business should ensure that the area is to be guaranteed to have pedestrian around the shop location from time to time. There is lack of pedestrian around the bakery shop, or can be inferred that during day time, there is not much pedestrian along the road. Therefore, in the end, Justo Eat decided to milk this branch to avoid further losses. Fortunately, the companys sales from the early period is enough to compensate the later stage loss, thus the company able to cover the initial start-up cost and any other operating expenses. The location problem not only existed in Sitiawan, the bakery branch in Kampar also faced location problem but it derived from another aspect. The increasing population in Kampar is really an attractive factor which can gauge business to come in. The number of student no matter in TAR College or UTAR is increasing, the company can exploit this opportunity to gain market share in Kampar. At the opening, the students are also attracted by the RM1 bread promotion, Justo Eat had also achieved high sales at this stage. However, Justo eat failed to anticipate the student study period. Students from both college and universiti will have a 3-week of semester break after final exam. During this time, they will not been in Kampar, therefore, there will be very low sales during that particular month. During the semester break month, Justo Eat can only rely on the sales from household in Kampar. Unfortunately, the location of the bakery shop only serves as a convenient place for the student in Kampar but not for the resident in Kampar. After few semester of lost, Justo Eat decided to milk this branch. Although the location is not suitable for selling their product, yet the store is remained and turns into a bakery academy. The idea of bakery academy is not merely for solving the problem in Kampar, it is a new strategy formulated by Justo Eat for future expansion as mentioned above. Since Justo Eat was searching for store space for bakery courses, while the bakery shop location is suitable for opening bakery academy, Justo Eat subsequently exploit the store space in Kampar to open their first bakery academy. By doing this, Justo Eat can eventually reduce the cost in market research and store renovation in Kampar. 6.0 Suggested alternate courses of action and its implementation To engage in business in a good location is essential to attain exposure in the short-term and to gain profit in long run as agreed by every entrepreneur and businessman. However, by depending solely ones own sixth sense which is considered as an entrepreneurs alertness, is not always reliable. Therefore, it is critical to conduct a thorough survey and analysis before entering a market and location. This can help a company to better understand what the attraction in that particular area or location is, how to draw potential target customers and who its competitors are. Justo Eat, a family-style bakery shop, should create a small marketing team in which they gather useful information, analyze the new shop locations and strategies as well as carry out simple surveys in a particular location to ensure there is a high chance of being able to target its customers. The founder and brains behind Justo Eat is a successful entrepreneur who had depended on his business acuity to correctly anal yze the potential success of a location for a new shop, but there have also been some unforeseen mistakes which is the reason the small marketing team. The marketing team will be able to assist him by delving deeper into his judgment and help him explore his ideas by using survey and analysis research from his marketing department. Tea break is an increasing trend in Malaysia among youths, young adults and oldies, where they will spare some time for a short break no matter how busy they are. To seize this golden opportunity, Justo Eat should include different types of beverages in their shops and chairs and tables where customers can easily enjoy a combination of bread and coffee, and think of Justo Eat when they want to have a tea break. Other than that, the company can also improve the quality of the cake by providing training for its employees. This is due to the poor emphasis on cakes, rather than bread from the company. When compared to the breads, the sales of cake of the company are not always on target. For that reason, improving in the quality of their cakes may be an advantage to the company, to an extent, boosting its sales and revenue. The customers can not only have bread but also enjoy cake during tea time in any Justo Eat shop. Although this will be another operating cost to the company as the co mpany has to increase the number of employees, in the long-term, the company is able to increase its profit and target another new opportunity, enhancing the patronage of customers. This will be its competitive advantage in the bakery industry, as opposed to being just limited to only selling bread and pastries. The overall marketing strategy used by Justo Eat targets the family-based markets. Families often go to bakeries to buy different breads for their childrens breakfast, for them to bring to school or serve as the lunch for the adults. However, there are also unmarried individuals and youths, who prefer more variety in their lives. The variety of choice in Justo Eat is limited and after some time, the single individuals and youths will begin to feel bored due to the lack of new variety. In regards to this, Justo Eat can implement a Weekly Special program, where they introduce new breads to spice things up. This will encourage them to patronize the store at least once a week, using the weekly special bread to attract them, which will boost sales and allow differentiation among the other bakeries in the area. 7.0 Conclusion Justo Eat has good strategies to overcome the company problem, and it also has a complete management system for the daily operation. Throughout its five years of existence, Justo Eat has developed the organization with more and more branch. Developing the business had created the well-known reputation of company. However, in spite of the successful strategy and expansion of company, the future of Justo Eat is challenging. The major challenge is competition among the industry. The company do not have brand strategy that customer can differentiate the company product when compete with others. It does not have a unique product that able to impress the company brand. In other words, there are no products that can makes customer to recall Justo Eat when they think of breads or cakes. Secondly, culture and eating habit towards the Malaysian when having the main course. Consumer may not eat a bread or cake for their lunch or dinner but they will have noodles or rice. Breads and cakes will not be their only choice when considering a meal. Moreover, the society is moving towards healthy food habit. This creates a challenge for Justo Eat in considering the ingredients used in cakes and breads baking. In order to make the first decade, Justo Eat has developed the business by opening bakery academy. It is not merely for increasing the profit but also serve as an opportunity for future expansion. The graduation candidates from Justo Eat can partner with the company to open branch in other location. Therefore, company can have a sharing of the business risk with others and expands the business at the same time. It also helps the company to be well-known as the students will probably spread their experience to others. Upon the venture of Justo Eat, it cannot be denied that the observation of the market and a strong network relationship can really affect a successful business thoroughly. A complete and appropriate management system is essential for daily operation. Still, it is very important how a person can implicate the experience or learning to the venture.

Comparing Life Without Meaning in Eliot’s The Waste Land and Welles’ Ci

Life Without Meaning in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane It is the foundation of modern civilization that knowledge is better than ignorance, understanding more valuable than confusion, and wisdom more desirable than foolishness. Consequently, people feel that they should be able to understand the meaning of life and, in doing so, know that their lives are not in vain. They want life to be a coherent whole infused with meaning, so that they can know and understand what life is and where they fit in, thereby attaining wisdom. Life, then, is in essence a struggle to find a meaningful framework for the experiences and feelings we have collected. Since art reflects the human state, and we have grown more conscious of this struggle, our art has come to reflect this problem of making a coherent, meaningful whole out of the assorted fragments of life we have collected. Though this theme of collecting is visible in all media of modern art, it is especially noticeable in literary and film art, in particular in T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane. These two pieces analyze collecting on two levels: first because they focus on collecting and second because they are collections. However, the division between these levels is somewhat superficial, as both Eliot and Welles blur the lines between the two parallels, making the audience more acutely aware that this art is a picture of all human life. On both levels the artists draw parallels between the works and the audiences’ lives by examining the content, style, and meaning of the collection; that is, what is collected, how it is collected, and what it says, concluding that life is not a coherent whole, but rather â€Å"a heap of broken ima... ...to be. Collecting points out that in the very act of observing the art, we are collecting, as the persona and Kane are, in an attempt to make a coherent and meaningful whole out of our lives, and that we will fail as surely as they do. NOTES 1 T.S. Eliot, â€Å"The Waste Land,† in The Waste Land and Other Poems (New York: Harcourt Brace, 1962). 2 The original title of The Waste Land was a quote from Dickens's novel Our Mutual Friend, "He do the Police in different voices." 3 When I say that the poem lacks a coherent meaning, I mean that it has no more coherent meaning that life itself does. 4 "I am not Russian, I am out of Lithuania, a real German." 5 It is interesting to note the two meanings that this phrase can have. It could mean that the fragments are anchored in his literary tradition, or it could mean that it is set up as a bulwark to prevent his ruin.

The Young Offenders Act Debate :: Free Essay Writer

Under fire from the date of its creation, the debate over the validity of the Young Offender’s Act continues. Should the YOA remain in its current form as a part of the Canadian legal system? An examination of the reasons it is seen as being ineffective, the need for change, and the suggested amendments and substitutes will provide an accurate picture of the situation from which a conclusion can be drawn. The young offenders act in its current form is nearly optimal. However, there enough reasons for its alteration that a serious consideration of amendments should be considered. There are a number of reasons why the YOA has been seen as ineffective. There is, in the public, a widespread perception that the YOA is not working at all. This is due to the large amount of misinformation that is sensationalized ruthlessly by the media (Good 1998 7). High profile cases of violent offenders leak, and, lacking details, the media presents an incomplete account of details to the public. As a result some people think that there are kids who know how to â€Å"beat the system† and are now out committing crimes with no fear of being seriously reprimanded. But, as one analyst and researcher reports â€Å"There are virtually no data †¦ that would permit an examination of this assumption† (Peterson-Badali and Koegl 1998 p127). Since once of the functions of the act is to protect the public, their fears are one a problem that needs to be addressed in any amendments that may go forward. There is, however, debate over the need for change. Some say the current act is much too easy on youths and that they’re getting away with too much. There are reasons situations, such as these misinterpreted ones, have come about. The YOA was designed keeping youth protection in mind, and experts in the area tend to refer to the fact that â€Å"†¦repeated studies have shown that it is not the severity of punishment which deters crime, but the certainty of it† (Daunt 1998 7). Therefore it is not surprising that thousands of good kids have been helped, and not hindered, by the current legislation on their way to a productive life (Good 1998 171). As well, the current YOA does have serious consequences for violent offenders, many of them ending up in adult court (Daunt 1998 7). One may also begin to see a bit of a trend: The introduction of the YOA in 1984 was to assuage the publics perception of a weak Juvenile Delinquents Act and promised increased penalties for you th offenders (Daunt 1998 7).

Leadership Essay -- Leader Leadership

Leadership There are at least two things you can say about leadership without sounding stupid or exaggerating, 1) Leaders are important, and secondly 2) There is always a leadership crisis of one kind or another, at any given time; e.g. shortage or incompetence, evil, crooked, inadequate, you name it. As simplistic as these statements may sound, they are paramount to any study or discussion of leadership and its effectiveness. In this paper, I would like to elaborate upon some qualities of a good leader, the relationship between leaders and the followers, the difference between a leader and a manager, between leadership and authority, and finally touch upon the possible evils and misuse of power and leadership positions. We have all heard that leaders are born and not made. I do not agree with this statement in the least. While some leadership qualities are innate to all people, the most notable leaders are churned out after years of experience and practice of certain skill-sets. Effective leaders are rare. They are created through the trials and tribulations of managing or working with people in a variety of settings. Most good leaders have had their fair share of hard knocks that awakened them to the greater potential within their scope of influence. Effective leaders are excellent communicators, able to speak the many languages of the individuals within the groups they lead. A good leader pays attention to the facts and then makes decisions based on objective analysis of those facts. Effective leaders naturally motive people from their actions, which include showing respect, listening, reflecting, and negotiating through conflict. Leaders encourage and empower people to achieve success rather than place blame. Leaders ... ...isuse power because those with power feel morally superior. There is one school of thought that believes that power corrupts slowly and gradually, while some others believe that those who misuse their position, do so in bold strikes. Leaders inherently have power and influence over their followers. There have been instances in history where leaders are granted god-like status, with absolute right to making judgments. This is true even in some cases in today's world vis-Ã  -vis national and religious leaders of major faiths. Leaders can also take advantage of the general reluctance to take on responsibility and accountability. By being willing to take on those burdens, a charismatic leader can amass a range of powers, including those that are in conflict, such as the power both to propose and approve acquisitions or to execute and account for securities transactions.

A Review of the Role of Soluble Fiber in Health with Specific Reference to Wheat Dextrin

Journal of International Medical Research http://imr. sagepub. com/ A Review of the Role of Soluble Fiber in Health with Specific Reference to Wheat Dextrin JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz and G Fotopoulos Journal of International Medical Research 2009 37: 1 DOI: 10. 1177/147323000903700101 The online version of this article can be found at: http://imr. sagepub. com/content/37/1/1 Published by: http://www. sagepublications. com Additional services and information for Journal of International Medical Research can be found at: Email Alerts: http://imr. agepub. com/cgi/alerts Subscriptions: http://imr. sagepub. com/subscriptions Reprints: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsReprints. nav Permissions: http://www. sagepub. com/journalsPermissions. nav >> Version of Record – Feb 1, 2009 What is This? Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 The Journal of International Medical Research 2009; 37: 1 – 17 A Review of the Role of Soluble Fiber in Health wit h Specific Reference to Wheat Dextrin JL SLAVIN1, V SAVARINO2, A PAREDES-DIAZ3* 1 AND G FOTOPOULOS4Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota, USA; 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Unit, Genoa, Italy; 3Novartis Consumer Health, Parsippany, New Jersey, USA; 4Novartis Consumer Health, Nyon, Switzerland dextrin, based on a search of PubMed. The evidence suggests that soluble fibers help to regulate the digestive system, may increase micronutrient absorption, stabilize blood glucose and lower serum lipids, may prevent several gastrointestinal disorders, and have an accepted role in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.It is concluded that supplementation with soluble fibers (e. g. wheat dextrin) may be useful in individuals at risk of a lower than recommended dietary fiber intake. ACIDS; Dietary fiber is widely recognized to have a beneficial role in overall health, but only at adequate levels (25 – 38 g/day for he althy adults). Wheat dextrin in particular is a soluble fiber that can easily be added to the diet and is widely used in the food industry. There is some debate about whether increased intake of soluble fibers leads to health benefits.This paper reviews the evidence regarding the physiological effects and potential health benefits of the addition of soluble dietary fibers, with specific reference to wheat KEY WORDS: SOLUBLE FIBER; WHEAT DEXTRIN; SHORT-CHAIN FATTY PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS; HEALTH BENEFITS PREBIOTICS; Introduction Fiber, the indigestible part of plants such as cereals, fruits and vegetables (Table 1), has a fundamental role in the regulation of the digestive system and may help to prevent troublesome disorders such as constipation,1 – 3 diarrhea4 – 6 and irritable bowel syndrome. – 9 Fiber may also help to regulate the absorption of micronutrients,3,10,11 stabilize glucose12 – 14 and cholesterol levels,15 – 17 have a role in cardiovascu lar health18 – 20 and possibly help to prevent some forms of cancer. 21 – 23 *Current address: 90 Possum Way, New Providence, NJ 07974, USA. Many nutrition and healthcare professionals use the terms ‘soluble’ and ‘insoluble’ fibers for nutrition labeling. 24 – 27 Soluble fibers dissolve in water and usually form a gel.They are generally fermented by bacteria in the lower intestine, but they are indigestible and hence not absorbed into the bloodstream. 24,28 Soluble fibers also ferment to form short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) such as butyrate, acetate and propionate (Table 2). 17,29 – 34 Short-chain fatty acids generate approximately 1 – 2 kcal/g of ingested fiber, so are used as an energy source by the intestinal Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 1 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al.The health benefits of soluble fiber TABLE 1: Classification systems for fiber based on four different fibe r characteristics Dietary fibers Lignin (polyphenolic compound, in cell walls of woody plants and seeds) Cellulose (glucose polymer, in all plant cell walls) ? -Glucans (glucose polymers, in oats, barley) Hemicelluloses (polysaccharides, in plant cell walls) Pectins (viscous polysaccharides, in fruits and berries) Gums (viscous polysaccharides, in seeds; e. g. uar gum) Inulin and oligofructose (mixture of fructose chains, in plants such as onions) Resistant starch (starch in plant cell walls; inaccessible to human digestive enzymes; often found in bananas and legumes; may also be formed by food processing) Soluble fibers Wheat dextrin ? -Glucans Gums (e. g. guar gum, partially hydrolyzed guar gum) Mucilages (e. g. psyllium) Pectins Fructo-oligosaccharides Some hemicelluloses Sources: oat products, legumes (dry beans, peas, lentils) Fermentable fibers Wheat dextrin Pectins ? Glucans Guar gum Partially hydrolyzed guar gum Inulin and oligofructose Sources: oats, barley, fruits, vegetab les Viscous fibers Pectins ? -Glucans Some gums (e. g. guar gum) Mucilages (e. g. psyllium) Functional fibers Resistant dextrins (e. g. wheat dextrin) (indigestible polysaccharides formed when starch is heated and treated with enzymes; includes resistant maltodextrins) Psyllium (viscous mucilage, isolated from husks of psyllium seeds; also known as ispaghula husk) Chitin and chitosan (nondigestible carbohydrate from exoskeletons of crustaceans, e. . crabs, lobsters; deacetylation of chitin gives chitosan, a nondigestible glucosamine polymer) Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS, short synthetic fructose) Polydextrose and polyols (synthetic polysaccharides used as bulking agents and sugar substitutes in foods) Insoluble fibers Cellulose Lignin Some pectins Some hemicelluloses Sources: wheat bran, some vegetables Non-fermentable fibers Cellulose Lignin Sources: cereal fibers rich in cellulose (e. g. wheat bran)Non-viscous fibers Cellulose Lignin Some hemicelluloses mucosa and are absorbed thr ough the colonic wall, where they are metabolized to produce energy or transported into the general circulation. 29 SCFAs also stimulate epithelial cell differentiation and proliferation. 29 Soluble fibers can also promote the growth of colonic Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 2 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiberTABLE 2: Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced by fermentable, soluble fiber17,29 – 34 Butyrate Widely recognized as the most significant acid in terms of its documented effects in the colon The preferred nutrient for the cells lining the colonic epithelium, in particular the distal colon and rectum The preferred substrate for colonocytes Positive effects on colonic mucosal growth, crypt cell proliferation, and early-response gene expression Acetate A fuel for skeletal and cardiac muscle, kidney and the brain A substrate for fatty acid and cholesterol synthesis Propionate Metabolized by the l iver Only SCFA that can be a major source of glucose (after metabolism, used for energy production) May play a role in cholesterol lowering bacterial flora (prebiotic effect). 35 – 37 Insoluble fibers, on the other and, do not dissolve in water, are generally less fermentable by colonic microflora and are indigestible,26 so pass through the intestines almost intact. Insoluble fibers have passive water-attracting properties that help to normalize large bowel function by acting like a sponge, pulling water into the stool and making it easier to pass. 38 They may also decelerate intestinal transit time, increase fecal weight through bulk action, delay glucose absorption and help to control and balance the pH in the intestines. 39,40 In the USA, the daily intake recommended by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) is 20 – 35 g fiber/day for healthy adults, and ‘age plus 5 g/day’ for children. 6 The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends > 25 g/day,41 whi le the British Nutrition Foundation recommends 12 – 24 g/day for healthy adults. 42 The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine established the Adequate Intake (AI) recommendation for fiber (both soluble and insoluble),24 which ranges from 19 to 38 g/day for children, depending on age, and from 25 to 38 g/day for healthy adults. The majority of people, however, do not seem to achieve the recommended daily intake of fiber, and women in general seem to consume lower amounts than men. 43,44 Wheat dextrin is a soluble fiber that has been widely used in the food industry because it has a low viscosity and so has a good consistency when added to water, beverages or soft food. 4 It is formed by heating wheat starch at high temperature, followed by enzymatic (amylase) treatment to form a resistant starch. 24,45 It qualifies as a dietary fiber because the non-digestible glucoside linkages (Fig. 1) lead to incomplete hydrolysation, so that only a small percentage of wheat dextrin is absorbed in the small intestine and the rest is slowly fermented in the large intestine. 3 This review aims to assess the evidence regarding the physiological effects and potential health benefits of supplementing the diet with soluble fibers, with specific reference to wheat dextrin. Data source The PubMed database (US National Library Downloaded from imr. sagepub. om by guest on March 27, 2013 3 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber CH2OH O OH O OH O CH2OH O OH HO O CH2 O OH O OH O OH CH2OH O OH O OH CH2OH O OH OH O OH OH O OH O OH HO 1:2 bond O O CH2OH O OH CH2OH O O OH OH O OH 1:3 bond CH2OH O OH O CH2 O OH O HO CH2OH O OH 1:6 bond O CH2 O H2 C O O CH2OH O CH2OH O OH O HO OH FIGURE 1: Chemical structure of wheat dextrin of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA) was searched (to July 2007) using the terms ‘wheat dextrin’ and ‘soluble fiber’, and studies were selected based on wh ether they evaluated the physiological or clinical effects of soluble fibers.Although this non-systematic approach limits the review in that a quantitative analysis was not performed, it does allow a general and potentially useful overview of the effects of supplementation with soluble fibers. Physiological effects of soluble fibers FERMENTABILITY In vitro fermentation of wheat dextrin, inulin and partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG), and analysis of the resulting SCFA production over a 24-h period17 revealed that all three fibers demonstrated detectable fermentability. Acetate was the main SCFA produced by all fibers, accounting for about 50% of the total SCFA. Over 24 h, wheat dextrin produced substantially more total SCFA, propionate and butyrate than PHGG, which consistently showed lower fermentability at all time points (Fig. 2A – 2C).To reduce gas production (which can be socially undesirable and cause uncomfortable bloating), extensive fermentation at 24 h is desirable , while fast fermentation (e. g. high values at 4 h) may be undesirable. The total amount of SCFA produced by wheat dextrin at 4 h was just over half the amount produced by glucose Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 4 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber A Concentration ( µmol/ml) 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 B Concentration ( µmol/ml) 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 0 4 8 12 Time since start of fermentation (h) 24 0 4 8 12 Time since start of fermentation (h) 24 C Concentration ( µmol/ml) 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 0 4 8 12 Time since start of fermentation (h) 24 Wheat dextrin PHGG Inulin F97 GlucoseFIGURE 2: Analysis of short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production following in vitro fermentation of wheat dextrin, partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG) inulin and glucose (positive control) over 24 h: (A) total SCFA production; (B) butyrate production; and (C) propionate production17 (positive control) and almost half the amount produced by inulin at the same time point (Fig. 2A). The fermentation of wheat dextrin, therefore, occurred slowly over 24 h, so its consumption was less likely to result in the gas production that can occur as a result of rapid fiber fermentation. composition towards a more beneficial distribution. 17,46 For example, the consumption of fructo-oligosaccharides led to an increase in fecal bifidobacteria,36,47,48 while ingestion of polydextrose resulted in a dosedependent decrease in bacteriodes and an increase in beneficial lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. 49 Administration of PHGG for 3 weeks increased the Lactobacillus spp count in feces. 0 Consumption of wheat dextrin led to a lower colonic pH, an increase in the fecal concentration of glucosidases, a statistically significant increase in the beneficial lactobacilli population and a statistically significant decrease in pathogenic Clostridium perfringens. 35 In another study, wheat dextrin increased the fecal concentration of glu cosidase;45,51 increased glucosidase activity is considered beneficial to the host and is linked to substrate fermentation leading to more SCFAs and lactic acid production. PREBIOTIC EFFECT The SCFAs produced by soluble fermentable fibers are moderately strong acids (pK 4. 8)29 and so they lower colonic pH. Lowering the pH in the large ntestine may support the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli because they have a strong intrinsic resistance to acid and the lower pH may help to prevent the growth of pH-sensitive pathogenic bacteria such as clostridia. 30 Many soluble fermentable fibers have demonstrated a significant prebiotic effect and alter the intestinal microflora Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 5 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber EFFECT ON LAXATION AND REGULARITY The formation of SCFAs helps to improve laxation and regularity by increasing fecal bulk and weight and increasing the waterholding c apacity (and thus the hydration) of feces. 0,46 The increase in fecal bulk and weight results from the presence of fiber, the water that the fiber holds and the partial fermentation of the fiber, which increases the amount of bacteria in the feces. 52 Studies have confirmed that consumption of the soluble fibers inulin or oligofructose result in an increase in fecal weight,53 while inulin helped to reduce constipation2 and polydextrose increased fecal mass and sometimes stool frequency. 49,54 Consumption of psyllium significantly increased stool frequency and stool weight, increased stool water content, improved stool consistency, increased the frequency of bowel movements and reduced pain on defecation. 55 – 59 Wheat dextrin significantly increased dry fecal output by 70% (P < 0. 02) and wet fecal output by 45% (P < 0. 05) (Fig. 3). The increase in wet fecal output was due to increased dry matter output (38%) and increased water output (62%). IMPROVED NUTRIENT/MINERAL ABSORP TION Although dietary fibers are traditionally thought to decrease mineral absorption, animal models and human studies have demonstrated that soluble fermentable fibers appear to increase the absorption of certain minerals. 3,10,60 – 62 For example, soluble fibers may increase calcium absorption through the increased production of SCFAs, with an increase in the villus crypt height, number of epithelial cells per crypt, cecal vein flow and mucosal-to-serosal calcium fluxes and stimulation of the expression of calbindinD9K, thereby enhancing the active calcium transport route. 3 Soluble fibers may also increase the absorption of other minerals such as magnesium, zinc and iron. 3,10,11 Studies in rats showed that the absorption of calcium, magnesium and/or zinc may be enhanced by guar gum,64 inulin,10,65 oligofructose65 and PHGG. 11 In healthy men supplemented with either wheat dextrin or dextrose (100 g/day), ingestion of wheat dextrin significantly increased magnesium apparent absorption (50. 9%, P = 0. 001) and retention (30. 9 mg/day, P = 0. 024) and tended 80 P < 0. 02 70 60 Increase (%) 50 40 30 20 10 0 Wet fecal output FIGURE 3: Effect of wheat dextrin on fecal output3 Dry fecal output P < 0. 05 45% 70% Downloaded from imr. sagepub. om by guest on March 27, 2013 6 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber (not statistically significant) to increase calcium apparent absorption (37. 4%) and retention (111 mg/day) (Table 3). 3 prandial plasma glucose concentrations (–13 mg, P = 0. 04) and a significant reduction in the urinary excretion of glucose (P = 0. 008) compared with the low-fiber diet. 13 In fact, the effects of fiber on glucose concentrations are most evident in individuals with diabetes mellitus and it has been suggested that diabetics should consume 25 – 50 g/day of dietary fiber, with ? 55% of their calorie intake coming from carbohydrate. 4 To assess the effect of fiber on the risk for diabetes, more than 65 000 women (40 – 65 years of age) were followed for 6 years; it was found that dietary glycemic index and glycemic load were positively associated with the development of type 2 diabetes, and dietary fiber was inversely associated. 75 Beyond the effects of fiber on post-prandial glucose and insulin, fiber alters the responses and actions of the gut hormones gastric inhibitory peptide,76 glucagon-like peptide177 and cholecystokinin (CCK). 78 CCK is a peptide hormone and neurotransmitter that regulates gut motility, gall bladder contraction and pancreatic enzyme secretion and may mediate the post-prandial glycemic and insulinemic response to viscous fibers. A direct correlation has been reported between post-prandial CCK and subjective satiety scores following ingestion of foods with varying amounts of fiber. 79,80 DECREASED GLYCEMIA AND INSULINEMIAThrough the production of SCFAs, soluble fibers can stimulate pancreatic insulin release and affect liver con trol of glycogen breakdown,66,67 and so may be effective in decreasing blood glucose and insulin levels and improving glycemic and insulinemic indices. 68 Guar gum,69,70 inulin12 and dextrin71 were all found to improve postprandial glycemia. In healthy subjects, the glycemic index of wheat dextrin was 25% compared with dextrose and the insulin response with wheat dextrin was also low at 13% compared with dextrose. 14 Resistant dextrins led to reduced blood glucose concentrations and insulin secretion in rats after sucrose or maltose loading,72,73 reduced the post-prandial blood glucose concentrations in healthy men and women,13 and significantly reduced fasting blood glucose concentrations in type 2 diabetics. 6 In patients with type 2 diabetes given a diet high (25 g soluble plus 25 g insoluble fiber) or low (8 g soluble plus 16 g insoluble fiber) in total fiber, the high-fiber diet resulted in significantly lower pre- TABLE 3: Effect of wheat dextrin supplementation (100 g/day) on the absorption and retention of magnesium and calcium in healthy men3 Dextrose diet Calcium Apparent absorption, mean, mg/day (%) Retention, mean, mg/day Magnesium Apparent absorption, mean, mg/day (%) Retention, mean, mg/day 187 (28. 8) 39. 3 65 (30. 4) –0. 3 Wheat dextrin diet 269 (37. 4) 111 117 (50. 9) 30. 9 Statistical significance (P-value) 0. 093 0. 122 0. 001 0. 024 Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 7 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al.The health benefits of soluble fiber REDUCED CHOLESTEROL LEVELS The SFCAs can suppress cholesterol synthesis by the liver and may reduce serum levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglycerides. 81 Soluble, viscous fibers are also thought to exert their hypocholesterolemic action by increasing fecal sterol excretion and stimulating hepatic bile acid synthesis. 82,83 In a metaanalysis of 67 controlled trials, consumption of 2 – 10 g/day of fiber (i. e. pectin, oat bran, gua r gum, psyllium) reduced total cholesterol by 4% and LDL-C by 7% compared with placebo. 15 No significant effect was observed on serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and triacylglycerol concentrations.A greater reduction in serum total cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations was also noted in type 2 diabetics who consumed 60 g/day resistant dextrin compared with type 2 diabetics or healthy adults who consumed 30 g/day. 16 No difference was observed in the concentration of HDL-C. A diet high in total fiber (25 g soluble plus 25 g insoluble fiber) led to significantly reduced plasma total cholesterol (P = 0. 02), very-low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (VLDL-C) (P = 0. 01) and triglyceride (P = 0. 02) concentrations compared with a low-fiber diet, indicating that high fiber intake, especially soluble fiber, improves plasma lipid profile. 3 It has also been proposed that soluble fermentable fibers may lead to a reduction of cholesterol levels via the increased amo unts of propionate produced during their fermentation by the commensal bacteria, because propionate may inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis. 84 Fibers producing high amounts of SCFAs (particularly propionate), such as wheat dextrin, may help to sustain cholesterol levels within the normal range. 17 The cholesterol-lowering effects of wheat dextrin have been demonstrated in animal trials. 85 The findings suggest that its cholesterol-lowering effect is likely to be related to reduced cholesterol and bile salt absorption. However, not all soluble fibers are hypocholesterolemic agents; for example, oat bran has been shown to lower serum lipids while wheat bran did not. 81 IMMUNE FUNCTIONIt is possible that SCFAs help to improve immune function, as they stimulate the production of T helper cells, antibodies, leukocytes and splenocyte cytokines, all of which have a crucial role in immune protection. 86,87 In addition, SCFAs improve the barrier properties of the colonic mucosal layer, thus in hibiting inflammatory and adhesion irritants. 88 – 90 Lactic-acid-forming bacteria competitively inhibit and/or suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria, and may have a positive influence on immune function. 91,92 WEIGHT REDUCTION Obesity is associated with increased energy intake and decreased consumption of fiberrich foods,93 while fiber intake is inversely associated with body weight and body fat. 94 – 97 Increasing daily fiber intake is an effective way of providing a satiating effect. 8 Dietary fiber also decreases gastric emptying and/or slows energy and nutrient absorption (a fiber-rich meal, which is also usually richer in micronutrients, is processed more slowly and nutrient absorption occurs over a greater period of time99), leading to lower post-prandial glucose and lipid levels. Furthermore, addition of dietary fiber to a low-calorie diet has been shown to lead to a significantly greater weight loss (8. 0 kg) compared with placebo (5. 8 kg). 100 When post -menopausal women consumed higher fiber diets, this was associated with significant weight loss. 101 A high Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 8 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber carbohydrate diet consumed ad libitum (i. e. elf-regulating), without energy restriction or change in energy intake, caused significant body weight and body fat losses in older men and women, with a significant decrease in thigh fat area (P = 0. 003). 102 A review of the effects of increased fiber (high-fiber foods or supplementation) on hunger, satiety, energy intake and body weight revealed that controlled energy intake with increased dietary fiber led to an increase in post-meal satiety and a decrease in subsequent hunger. 103 With ad libitum energy intake, increased dietary fiber (14 g/day) resulted in an average 10% decrease in energy intake and 1. 9 kg weight loss over 3. 8 months of intervention. The effects of increasing dieta ry fiber were reported to be greater in obese individuals.When evaluating the effects of 1 week of supplementation with soluble fiber (guar gum, 40 g/day) on hunger, satiety rating and energy intake, mean daily energy intake decreased significantly from 6. 7 to 5. 4 MJ, while hunger and satiety scores did not change. 104 Long-term (4 – 5 weeks) assessment of wheat dextrin (30 or 45 g/day) supplementation demonstrated a trend towards better weight maintenance; compared with baseline, body weight was increased in the control group supplemented with pure absorbable maltodextrin (+0. 87 kg; P = 0. 07), whereas body weight remained stable in the wheat dextrin-treated groups (+0. 0 kg). 35 sometimes stool frequency. 9,54 Psyllium significantly increased stool frequency and stool weight, increased stool water content, improved stool consistency, increased the frequency of bowel movements and reduced pain on defecation. 55 – 59 Administration of PHGG for 3 weeks increased the frequency of defecation (+0. 17 /day), increased fecal moisture (+5%) and decreased fecal pH. 50 Supplementation with PHGG also helped to reduce the use of laxatives (from an average of 2. 0 to 0. 2 doses/day). 105 Wheat dextrin (100 g/day) had a positive effect on fecal output in healthy men,3 with an average 45% increase in wet fecal weight (P < 0. 05) and 70% increase in dry fecal output (P < 0. 02) (Fig. 3). DIARRHEA Increased intake of soluble fiber may enhance recovery and improve stool consistency in diarrhea. ,5,106 – 109 Persistent diarrhea resolved in more children taking PHGG (84%) compared with those on the control diet (62%) (odds ratio 3. 12), while the duration of diarrhea was reduced and there was a trend towards reduction in daily stool weight that reached significance on days 4 – 7. 6 Compared with non-fiber control in children, PHGG significantly reduced the mean frequency of diarrhea (8. 8% versus 32. 0%; P = 0. 001), resulted in significantly fewer days with diarrhea per total feeding days (10. 8% versus 31. 5%; P < 0. 001) and led to a significantly lower mean diarrhea score (4. 8 versus 9. 4; P < 0. 001). 110 PHGG also suppressed diarrhea caused by the ingestion of high levels of non-digestible sugar substitutes. 11 In elderly patients with diarrhea, 4-week supplementation with soluble dietary fiber (7 g/day) significantly reduced the water content of feces (P < 0. 01), the fecal pH (P < 0. 05) and the frequency of daily bowel movements (P < 0. 05). 5 In addition, the fecal characteristics improved The role of soluble fiber in disease CONSTIPATION Increased daily fiber intake can ameliorate constipation. 40,49,52 – 59 Consumption of inulin or oligofructose was shown to increase fecal weight,53 inulin reduced constipation2 and polydextrose increased fecal mass and Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 9 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al.The health benefits of soluble fiber and the tota l level of SCFAs increased significantly (P < 0. 05). 5 In patients with fecal incontinence, significantly fewer incontinent stools were observed in those who consumed dietary fiber (psyllium or gum arabic) than those receiving placebo. 4 Improvements in fecal incontinence or stool consistency did not appear to be related to unfermented dietary fiber. However, the effects of increased soluble fiber on diarrhea are inconclusive, as a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials found no evidence that dietary fiber was effective in treating diarrhea. 112 randomized studies would be useful to confirm the potentially beneficial effects of soluble fiber in IBS.DIVERTICULOSIS A diet low in fiber is thought to play a role in the pathogenesis of diverticular disease. 114 Increasing dietary fiber produces bulky, soft stools, facilitating defecation and reducing intracolonic pressure. 114 Increased fiber also helps to promote regular bowel function and is important in controlling and minimi zing diverticular disease. 115 – 117 Non-viscous soluble fiber is associated with a decreased risk of diverticular disease and an improvement of bowel pain. 115 In patients with diverticulosis, it is recommended that patients consume 20 – 35 g/day of fiber either through the diet or supplementation. 118 IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROMETreatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is aimed at alleviating symptoms. In patients with mild symptoms, fiber supplementation (particularly non-gelling soluble fibers) may help to relieve the severity and frequency of IBS symptoms, including abdominal pain, spasms or distension/tension, bowel dysfunction (e. g. fluctuation between constipation and diarrhea) and flatulence. 8,9,113 PHGG was better tolerated than wheat bran and more readily accepted by IBS patients, resulting in an improved quality of life during the treatment period. 113 PHGG also had a positive effect on evacuation frequency with a decrease in the frequency of IBS symptoms such as flatulence, abdominal tension and abdominal spasm. 13 Based on its physiological properties, wheat dextrin may also help to alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms associated with IBS through increased fecal output,3 enhanced prebiotic capabilities35,45 and significant but slow fermentation in the lower intestine, producing high concentrations of SCFAs but lower amounts of gas, which could be an important aspect in relieving the discomfort caused by IBS. 17 However, double-blind, HEMORRHOIDS A low-fiber diet is thought to contribute to the etiology of hemorrhoids. 119 Increasing the fiber content in the diet can have a beneficial effect in the treatment of symptomatic hemorrhoids. 120,121 A recent meta-analysis demonstrated that increased fiber reduced the risk of bleeding and decreased the rate of recurrence of hemorrhoids,120 while a Cochrane review found that the risk of not improving hemorrhoids and having persisting symptoms decreased by 53% with increased intake of fiber, with a significant reduction in bleeding. 121CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE A number of studies have consistently found that a fiber-enriched diet (14 g fiber/1000 kcal energy) is associated with a significant reduction (16 – 33%) in the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). 19,20,122 – 126 A pooled analysis of studies evaluating dietary fiber Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 10 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber intake in the USA and Europe indicated that each 10 g/day increase in total fiber intake was associated with a 14% decrease in the risk of coronary events (e. g. myocardial infarction), and a 24% decrease in deaths from CHD. 9 A study on the relationship between dietary fiber and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among women over a 10-year period showed that the ageadjusted relative risk for major CVD was 0. 53 for women consuming the highest amount of fiber (22. 9 g/day) compared with thos e on the lowest fiber intake (11. 5 g/day). 125 Although few interventional studies have specifically assessed fiber intake on the risk of CVD, increased fiber has been shown to ameliorate some of the risk factors for CVD (e. g. high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes). For example, fiber can significantly reduce blood cholesterol levels and so may be important to cardiovascular health. 5,16,81,127 Consuming foods rich in viscous soluble fibers has been shown to reduce blood levels of LDL-C by 10 – 15%, with an expected reduction in CVD events of 10 – 15%, and it has been stated that a diet including 5 – 10 g/day of viscous soluble fiber reduces CVD events and death independent of baseline risk. 18 Although the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble (especially viscous) fibers probably contributes the most to its cardioprotective effects, other mechanisms are likely to play a role. As part of a lifestyle modification program, fiber can help to reduce blood pressure significantly,128 supporting research that found that highfiber intake was inversely associated with the risk of high blood pressure or hypertension. 129,130 Two intervention trials found that increased fiber intake resulted in significant reductions in blood pressure compared with placebo. 31,132 In an analysis of the association between nutrient intake and risk of stroke, dietary fiber was inversely correlated to the incidence of stroke, a relationship that was stronger in hypertensive than normotensive men. 133 Fiber is also effective at reducing the risk of diabetes and, thus, the risk of developing CVD, and can improve glycemic and insulinemic indices12,14,69 – 71 and decrease blood glucose and insulin levels. 13,16,72 Lowfiber, high-glycemic load diets are associated with higher serum triglyceride levels and lower HDL-C levels, which are risk factors for CVD. 134,135 Increased fiber consumption may also help control body weight and support a weight reduction program by helping to reduce obesity and, possibly, the associated risk of CVD. 94 – 104 Safety aspects of fiber supplementationReduced absorption of trace elements has traditionally been proposed as a potential negative effect of dietary fiber intake;136,137 however, it is unlikely that healthy adults who consume fiber in amounts within the recommended ranges will have problems with nutrient absorption. In fact, clinical data demonstrate that soluble fibers (e. g. inulin, fructo-oligosaccharides, wheat dextrin) may positively affect the absorption of certain minerals. 3,10,11,64,65 Fermentation of dietary fiber by anaerobic bacteria in the large intestine produces gas (including hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide), which may be related to complaints of distention or flatulence, especially with high intakes of fiber. An increase in dietary fiber should also be accompanied by an increase in fluid intake, and fiber should be increased gradually to allow th e gastrointestinal tract time to adapt.Normal laxation may be achieved with relatively small amounts of dietary Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 11 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber fiber, and the smallest intake that results in normal laxation should be used. 138 Nevertheless, wheat dextrin has been shown to be well tolerated even up to the relatively high intake of 45 g/day. 51 Higher daily intakes (60 and 80 g) resulted in greater flatulence (P < 0. 05) and some bloating compared with placebo, but no intake resulted in diarrhea. fiber can have beneficial effects on constipation, diarrhea and the symptoms of IBS.Soluble fiber also has additional positive effects on cardiovascular health, leading to a significant risk reduction of CHD. Thus, this review of the physiological effects and subsequent health benefits of soluble fibers suggests that daily fiber supplementation could be beneficial in those individ uals who are at risk of inadequate fiber in their diet. Most servings of common foods contain between 1 and 3 g of dietary fiber so it may be difficult to consume the recommended amounts of fiber. Dietary assessment programs can estimate fiber intake for different population groups, allowing the identification of groups that have deficient fiber intake.At an individual level, fiber intake can be generally estimated based on servings of fruits, vegetables and whole grains having 2 g of dietary fiber per serving, and servings of legumes having 5 g of dietary fiber per serving. Values from high-fiber cereals or fiber supplements can be added to these totals. Wheat dextrin is one example of a soluble fiber supplement that has been shown to help normalize bowel function and is well tolerated, even at large intakes. It is slowly but extensively fermented, leading to a significantly high production of SCFAs, while its slow fermentation profile could help minimize the undesirable effects of gas production and flatulence. Wheat dextrin has also demonstrated enhanced prebiotic capabilities when used at an intake of 30 – 45 g/day.Based on its physiological properties, supplementation with wheat dextrin should be useful in individuals that need to complete their dietary intake with a fiber in order to achieve the daily recommended dietary levels of fiber. Conclusion Review of the evidence indicates that soluble, fermentable fibers, including wheat dextrin, have positive physiological effects that may help to improve bowel regularity and result in some health benefits. Soluble fibers are fermented in the large intestine, leading to the production of SCFAs that lower colonic pH and result in a significant prebiotic effect in which the growth of beneficial intestinal microflora (e. g. ifidobacteria, lactobacilli) and fecal glucosidase concentrations are increased, while the growth of pH-sensitive pathogenic bacteria (e. g. clostridia) is prevented or suppressed. In th is way, SCFAs could promote normal bowel regularity and may help to reduce serum glucose and cholesterol levels. SCFAs also positively influence the absorption and retention of certain micronutrients (e. g. calcium, magnesium, zinc), and may improve immune function by stimulating the production of immunoprotective factors (e. g. T helper cells, antibodies) and improving the barrier properties of the colonic mucosal layer. Soluble fibers that are slowly yet extensively fermented in the large intestine (e. g. heat dextrin) are tolerated more easily than those that ferment quickly, as the latter can produce larger amounts of gas in a shorter period of time, leading to bloating and flatulence. By improving digestive balance, regularity and hydration in the gut, soluble Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 12 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber Acknowledgments Editorial support was given by Deborah Nock, DPP-Cordell Lt d, Saxthorpe, UK. Funding for the review was provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Nyon, Switzerland. Conflicts of interest Alberto Paredes-Diaz and Grigorios Fotopoulos were Novartis Consumer Health, employees at the time of manuscript preparation.The other authors had no conflicts of interest to declare in relation to this article. †¢ Received for publication 8 September 2008 †¢ Accepted subject to revision 9 September 2008 †¢ Revised accepted 11 December 2008 Copyright  © 2009 Field House Publishing LLP References 1 Cummings JH: The effect of dietary fiber on fecal weight and composition. In: CRC Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition (Spiller GA, ed), 2nd edn. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1993; pp 263 – 349. 2 Kleessen B, Sykura B, Zunft HJ, et al: Effects of inulin and lactose on fecal microflora, microbial activity, and bowel habit in elderly constipated persons. Am J Clin Nutr 1997; 65: 1397 – 1402. Vermorel M, Coudray C, Wils D, et al: Energy v alue of a low-digestible carbohydrate, NUTRIOSE ®FB, and its impact on magnesium, calcium, and zinc apparent absorption and retention in healthy young men. Eur J Nutr 2004; 43: 344 – 352. 4 Bliss DZ, Guenter PA, Settle RG: Defining and reporting diarrhea in tube-fed patients: what a mess! Am J Clin Nutr 1992; 55: 753 – 759. 5 Nakao M, Ogura Y, Satake S, et al: Usefulness of soluble dietary fiber for the treatment of diarrhea during enteral nutrition in elderly patients. Nutrition 2002; 18: 35 – 39. 6 Alam NH, Sarker SA, Bardhan PK, et al: Partially hydrolysed guar gum supplemented comminuted chicken diet in persistent diarrhoea: randomised controlled trial. Arch Dis Child 2005; 90: 195 – 199. Giaccari S, Grasso G, Tronci S, et al: Partially hydrolyzed guar gum: a fiber as coadjuvant in the irritable colon syndrome. Clin Ter 2001; 152: 21 – 25. 8 Bijkerk CJ, Muris JW, Knottnerus JA, et al: Systematic review: the role of different types of fibre in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2004; 19: 245 – 251. 9 Aller R, de Luis DA, Izaola O, et al: Effects of a high-fiber diet on symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. Nutrition 2004; 20: 735 – 737. 10 Coudray C, Rambeau M, Feillet-Coudray C, et al: Dietary inulin intake and age can significantly affect intestinal absorption of calcium and magnesium in rats: a stable isotope approach. Nutr J 2005; 4: 29. 1 de Cassia Freitas K, Amancio OM, Ferreira Novo M, et al: Partially hydrolyzed guar gum increases intestinal absorption of iron in growing rats with iron deficiency anemia. Nutrition 2003; 19: 549 – 552. Jackson KG, Taylor GRJ, Clohessy AM, et al: The effect of the daily intake of inulin fasting lipid, insulin and glucose concentrations in middle-aged men and women. Br J Nutr 1999; 82: 23 – 30. Chandalia M, Garg A, Lutjohann D, et al: Beneficial effect of high dietary fiber intake in patients wit h type 2 diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 2000; 342: 1392 – 1398. Donazzolo Y, Pelletier X, Cristiani I, et al: Glycaemic and insulinaemic indexes of NUTRIOSE ® FB in healthy subjects. Dietary Fiber 18 – 21 May 2003 [abstract].Brown L, Rosner B, Willett WW, et al: Cholesterol-lowering effects of dietary fiber: a meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 69: 30 – 42. Ohkuma K, Wakabayashi S: Fibersol-2: A soluble, non-digestible, starch derived dietary fibre. In: Advanced Dietary Fibre Technology (McCleary B, Prosky L, eds). Oxford: Blackwell Science, 2001; pp 510 – 523. Stewart ML, Savarino V, Slavin JL: Assessment of dietary fiber fermentation: effect of Lactobacillus reuteri and reproducibility of shortchain fatty acid concentrations. Mol Nutr Food Res 2009; 53: DOI: 10. 1002/mnfr. 200700523. Shamliyan TA, Jacobs DR Jr, Raatz SK, et al: Are your patients with risk of CVD getting the viscous soluble fiber they need? J Fam Pract 2006; 55: 761 – 769.Pere ira MA, O’Reilly E, Augustsson K, et al: Dietary fiber and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of cohort studies. Arch Intern Med 2004; 164: 370 – 376. Mozaffarian D, Kumanyika SK, Lemaitre RN, et al: Cereal, fruit, and vegetable fiber intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease in elderly individuals. JAMA 2003; 289: 1659 – 1666. Wakai K, Date C, Fukui M, et al: Dietary fiber and risk of colorectal cancer in the Japan collaborative cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2007; 16: 668 – 675. Bingham SA, Day NE, Luben R, et al: Dietary fibre in food and protection against colorectal cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): an observational study. Lancet 2003; 361: 1496 – 1501. 12 13 14 15 16 7 18 19 20 21 22 Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 13 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber 23 Pelucchi C, Talamini R, Galeon e C, et al: Fibre intake and prostate cancer risk. Int J Cancer 2004; 109: 278 – 280. 24 Institute of Medicine: Dietary, functional, and total fiber. Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients). Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005; pp 339 – 421. 25 Shikany JM, White GL: Dietary guidelines for chronic disease prevention. South Med J 2000; 93: 1157 – 1161. 6 Marlett JA, McBurney MI, Slavin JL: Position of the American Dietetic Association: health implications of dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc 2002; 102: 993 – 1000. 27 US Food and Drug Administration: Health claims: soluble fiber from certain foods and risk of heart diseases. Code of Federal Regulations 2001; 21: 101. 81. 28 Cho SS, Dreher ML (eds): Handbook of Dietary Fiber. New York: Marcel Dekker, 2001. 29 Cummings JH, Rombeau JL, Sakata T (eds): Physiological and Clinical Aspects of Short-Chain Fatty Acids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 30 Topping DL, Clifton PM: Short-chain fatty acids and human colonic function: roles of resistant starch and nonstarch polysaccharides. Physiol Rev 2001; 81: 1031 – 1064. 1 Wong JM, de Souza R, Kendall CW, et al: Colonic health: fermentation and short chain fatty acids. J Clin Gastroenterol 2006; 40: 235 – 243. 32 Drozdowski LA, Dixon WT, McBurney MI, et al: Cellular proliferation and gene expression. J Parenter Enteral Nutr 2002; 26: 145 – 150. 33 Vogt JA, Wolever TM: Fecal acetate is inversely related to acetate absorption from the human rectum and distal colon. Hum Nutr Metab Res Comm 2003; 133: 3145 – 3148. 34 Khattak MMAK: Physiological effects of dietary complex carbohydrates and its metabolites role in certain diseases. Pak J Nutr 2002; 1: 161 – 168. 35 Pasman W, Wils D, Saniez M-H, et al: Long term gastrointestinal tolerance of NUTRIOSE ®FB in healthy men. Eur J Clin Nutr 2006; 60: 1024 â€⠀œ 1034. 6 Tuohy KM, Kolida S, Lustenberger AM, et al: The prebiotic effects of biscuits containing partially hydrolysed guar gum and fructooligosaccharides – a human volunteer study. Br J Nutr 2001; 86: 341 – 348. 37 Okubo T, Ishihara N, Takahashi H, et al: Effects of partially hydrolyzed guar gum intake on human intestinal microflora and its metabolism. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1994; 58: 1364 – 1369. 38 American Dietetic Association: Position of the American Dietetic Association: health implications of dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc 1997; 97: 1157 – 1159. 39 Gibson GR, Roberfroid MB: Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. J Nutr 1995; 125: 1401 – 1412. 40 Stephen AM, Cummings JH: Mechanism of action of dietary fibre in the human colon. Nature 1980; 284: 283 – 284. 1 World Health Organization: Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consult ation. 2003. Geneva, WHO, WHO Technical Report Series 916. 42 British Nutrition Foundation: Nutrient Requirements and Recommendations, 2004. Available at http://www. nutrition. org. uk/ upload/Nutritient%20Requirements%20and %20recommendations%20pdf(1). pdf [accessed 22 September 2008]. 43 Elmadfa I, Weichselbaum E (eds): Energy and nutrient intake in the European Union. European Nutrition and Health Report 2004. Forum Nutr. Basel: Karger, 2005, Vol 58, pp 19 – 46. 44 Variyam JN: Factors affecting the macronutrient intake of US adults.Washington DC: US Department of Agriculture, Technical Bulletin Number 1901, April 2003. 45 Van den Heuvel EGHM, Wils D, Pasman WJ, et al: Dietary supplementation of different doses of NUTRIOSE ® FB, a fermentable dextrin, alters the activity of faecal enzymes in healthy men. Eur J Nutr 2005; 44: 445 – 451. 46 Giannini EG, Mansi C, Dulbecco P, et al: Role of partially hydrolyzed guar gum in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Nut rition 2006; 22: 334 – 342. 47 Bouhnik Y, Vahedi K, Achour L, et al: Shortchain fructo-oligosaccharide administration dose-dependently increases fecal bifidobacteria in healthy humans. J Nutr 1999; 129: 113 – 116. 8 Buddington RK, Williams CH, Chen S-C, et al: Dietary supplementation of neosugar alters the fecal flora and decreases activities of some reductive enzymes in human subjects. Am J Clin Nutr 1996; 63: 709 – 716. 49 Jie Z, Bang-Yao L, Ming-Jie X, et al: Studies on the effects of polydextrose intake on physiologic functions in Chinese people. Am J Clin Nutr 2000; 72: 1503 – 1509. 50 Takahashi H, Wako N, Okubo T, et al: Influence of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on constipation in women. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 1994; 40: 251 – 259. 51 Van den Heuvel EGHM, Wils D, Pasman WJ, et al: Short-term digestive tolerance of different doses of NUTRIOSE ®FB, a food dextrin, in adult men. Eur J Clin Nutr 2004; 58: 1046 – 1055. 2 Kurasawa S, Haack VS, Marlett JA: Plant residue and bacteria as bases for increased stool weight accompanying consumption of higher dietary fiber diets. J Am Coll Nutr 2000; 19: 426 – 433. 53 Gibson GR, Beatty ER, Wang X, et al: Selective stimulation of bifidobacteria in the human colon by oligofructose and inulin. Gastroenterology 1995; 108: 975 – 982. 54 Tomlin J, Read NW: A comparative study of Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 14 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 the effects on colon function caused by feeding ispaghula husk and polydextrose. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 1988; 2: 513 – 519.Ashraf W, Park F, Lof J, et al: Effects of psyllium therapy on stool characteristics, colon transit and anorectal function in chronic idiopathic constipation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 1995; 9: 639 – 647. McRorie JW, Daggy BP, Morel JG, et al: Psyllium is superior to doc usate sodium for treatment of chronic constipation. Aliment Pharmacol Ther 1998; 12: 491 – 497. Burton R, Manninen V: Influence of psylliumbased fibre preparation on faecal and serum parameters. Acta Med Scand Suppl 1982; 668: 91 – 94. Dettmar PW, Sykes J: A multi-centre, general practice comparison ispaghula husk with lactulose and other laxatives in the treatment of simple constipation. Curr Med Res Opin 1998; 14: 227 – 233. Prior A, Whorwell PJ: Double blind study of ispaghula in irritable bowel syndrome. Gut 1987; 28: 1510 – 1513.Holloway L, Moynihan S, Abrams SA, et al: Effects of oligofructose-enriched inulin on intestinal absorption of calcium and magnesium and bone turnover markers in postmenopausal women. Br J Nutr 2007; 97: 365 – 372. Abrams SA, Griffin IJ, Hawthorne KM, et al: A combination of prebiotic short- and long-chain inulin-type fructans enhances calcium absorption and bone mineralization in young adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr 2005 ; 82: 471 – 476. Tahiri M, Tressol JC, Arnaud J: Five-week intake of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides increases intestinal absorption and status of magnesium in postmenopausal women. J Bone Miner Res 2001; 16: 2152 – 2160. Scholz-Ahrens KE, Schrezenmeir J: Inulin, oligofructose and mineral metabolism – experimental data and mechanism. Br J Nutr 2002; 87(suppl 2): S179 – S186.Hara H, Suzuki T, Kasai T, et al: Ingestion of guar gum hydrolysates, a soluble fiber, increases calcium absorption in totally gastrectomized rats. J Nutr 1999; 129: 39 – 45. Raschka L, Daniel H: Mechanisms underlying the effects of inulin-type fructans on calcium absorption in the large intestine of rats. Bone 2005; 37: 728 – 735. Katoh K, Tsuda T: Effects of acetylcholine and short-chain fatty acids on acinar cells of the exocrine pancreas in sheep. J Physiol 1984; 356: 479 – 489. Mineo H, Hashizume Y, Hanaki Y: Chemical specificity of short-chain fatty acids in stimulating insulin and glucagon secretion in sheep. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 1994; 267: E234 – E241. Wolever TM, Jenkins DJ: Effect of dietary fiber and foods on carbohydrate metabolism.In: CRC Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition (Spiller GA, ed), 2nd edn. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1993; pp 111 – 152. 69 Williams JA, Lai C, Corwin H, et al: Inclusion of guar gum and alginate into a crispy bar improves postprandial glycemia in humans. J Nutr 2004; 134: 886 – 889. 70 Prieto PG, Cancelas J, Villanueva-Penacarrillo ML, et al: Short-term and long-term effects of guar on postprandial plasma glucose, insulin and glucagon-like peptide 1 concentration in healthy rats. Horm Metab Res 2006; 38: 397 – 404. 71 Asp ML, Hertzler SR, Chow J, et al: Gammacyclodextrin lowers postprandial glycemia and insulinemia without carbohydrate malabsorption in healthy adults. J Am Coll Nutr 2006; 25: 49 – 55. 2 Wakabayashi S, Ueda Y, Matsuoka A: Effects of indi gestible dextrin on blood glucose and insulin levels after various sugar loads in rats. J Jpn Soc Nutr Food Sci 1993; 46: 131 – 137. 73 Wakabayashi S, Kishimoto Y, Matsuoka A: Effects of indigestible dextrin on glucose tolerance in rats. J Endocrinol 1995; 144: 533 – 538. 74 Anderson JW, Randles KM, Kendall CW, et al: Carbohydrate and fiber recommendations for individuals with diabetes: a quantitative assessment and meta-analysis of the evidence. J Am Coll Nutr 2004; 23: 5 – 17. 75 Salmeron J, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al: Dietary fiber, glycemic load, and risk of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in women. JAMA 1997; 277: 472 – 477. 6 Tseng CC, Kieffer TJ, Jarboe LA, et al: Postprandial stimulation of insulin releases by glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP): effect of a specific glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor antagonist in the rat. J Clin Invest 1996; 98: 2440 – 2445. 77 Van Dijk G, Thiele TE: Glucagon-li ke peptide-I (7-36) amide: a central regulator of satiety and interoceptive stress. Neuropeptides 1999; 33: 406 – 414. 78 Bourdon I, Olson B, Rackus R, et al: Beans, as a source of dietary fiber, increase cholecystokinin and apolipoprotein B48 response to test meals in men. J Nutr 2001; 131: 1485 – 1490. 79 Burton-Freeman B, Davis PA, Schneeman BO: Plasma cholecystokinin is associated with subjective measures of satiety in women. Am J Clin Nutr 2002; 76: 659 – 667. 0 Bourdon I, Yokoyama W, Davis P, et al: Postprandial lipid, glucose, insulin, and cholecystokinin responses in men fed barley pasta enriched with ? -glucan. Am J Clin Nutr 1999; 69: 55 – 63. 81 Anderson JW, Gilinsky NH, Deakins DA, et al: Lipid responses of hypercholesterolemic men to oat-bran and wheat-bran intake. Am J Clin Nutr 1991; 54: 678 – 683. 82 Marlett JA: Dietary fiber and cardiovascular disease. In: Handbook of Dietary Fiber (Cho SS, Dreher ML, eds). New York: Marcel Dekker, 2001: pp 17 – 30. 83 Trautwein EA, Kunath-Rau A, Erbersdobler HF: Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 15 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A Paredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98Increased fecal bile acid excretion and changes in the circulating bile acid pool are involved in the hypocholesterolemic and gallstone-preventive actions of psyllium in hamsters. J Nutr 1999; 129: 896 – 902. Anderson JW, Deakins DA, Bridges SR: Soluble fiber: hypocholesterolemic effects and proposed mechanisms. In: Dietary Fibre – Chemistry, Physiology, and Health Effects (Kritchevsky D, Bonfield C, Anderson JW, eds). New York: Plenum Press, 1990; pp 339 – 363. Juhel C, Tosini F, Steib M, et al: Cholesterollowering effect of non-viscous soluble dietary fiber Nutriose ® FB in hypercholesterolemic hamsters. Ann Nutr Metab 2007; 15(suppl 1): 259.Pratt VC, Tappenden KA, McBurney MI, et al: Short-chain fa tty acid-supplemented total parenteral nutrition improves nonspecific immunity after intestinal resection in rats. JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1996; 20: 264 – 271. Sanderson IR: Short chain fatty acid regulation of signaling genes expressed by the intestinal epithelium. J Nutr 2004; 134: 2450S – 2454S. Roediger WE: Utilization of nutrients by isolated epithelial cells of rat colon. Gastroenterology 1982; 83: 424 – 429. Koruda MJ, Rolandelli RH, Bliss DZ, et al: Parenteral nutrition supplemented with shortchain fatty acids: effect on the small bowel mucosa in normal rats. Am J Clin Nutr 1990; 51: 685 – 689. Mariadason JM, Barkla DH, Gibson PR: Effect of short-chain fatty acids on paracellular permeability in Caco-2 intestinal epithelium model.Am J Physiol 1997; 272: G705 – G712. Blum S, Schiffrin EJ: Intestinal microflora and homeostasis of the mucosal immune response: implications for probiotic bacteria? Curr Issues Intest Microbiol 2003; 4: 53 â €“ 60. Schiffrin EJ, Rochat F, Link-Amster H, et al: Immunomodulation of human blood cells following the ingestion of lactic acid bacteria. J Dairy Sci 1995; 78: 491 – 497. Lissner L, Lindroos AK, Sjostrom L: Swedish obese subjects (SOS): an obesity intervention study with a nutritional perspective. Eur J Clin Nutr 1998; 52: 316 – 322. Kimm S: The role of dietary fiber in the development and treatment of childhood obesity. Pediatr 1995; 96: 1010 – 1014. AlfieriM, Pomerleau J, Grace DM, et al: Fiber intake of normal weight, moderately obese and severely obese subjects. Obes Res 1995; 3: 541 – 547. Nelson LH, Tucker LA: Diet composition related to body fat in a multivariate study of 293 men. J Am Diet Assoc 1996; 96: 771 – 777. Kromhout D, Bloemberg B, Seidell JC, et al: Physical activity and dietary fiber determine population body fat levels: the Seven Countries Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 2001; 25: 301 – 306. Slavin J, Green H: Dietary fibre and satiety. Nutr Bull 2007; 32: 32 – 42. 99 Jenkins DJ, Wolever TM, Rao AV, et al: Effect on blood lipids of very high intakes of fiber in diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol. N Engl J Med 1993; 329: 21 – 26. 00 Birketvedt GS, Aaseth J, Florholmen JR, et al: Long-term effect of fibre supplement and reduced energy intake on body weight and blood lipids in overweight subjects. Acta Medica (Hradec Kralove) 2000; 43: 129 – 132. 101 Mueller-Cunningham WM, Quintana R, Kasim-Karakas SE: An ad libitum, very low-fat diet results in weight loss and changes in nutrient intakes in postmenopausal women. J Am Diet Assoc 2003; 103: 1600 – 1606. 102 Hays NP, Starling RD, Liu X, et al: Effects of an ad libitum low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet on body weight, body composition, and fat distribution in older men and women. Arch Intern Med 2004; 164: 210 – 217. 103 Howarth NC, Saltzman E, Roberts SB: Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutr Rev 20 01; 59: 129 – 139. 04 Pasman WJ, Saris WHM, Wauters MAJ, et al: Effect of one week of fibre supplementation on hunger and satiety ratings and energy intake. Appetite 1997; 29: 77 – 78. 105 Patrick PG, Gohman SM, Marx SC, et al: Effect of supplements of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on the occurrence of constipation and use of laxative agents. J Am Diet Assoc 1998; 98: 912. 106 Schiller LR: Chronic diarrhea. Curr Treat Options Gastroenterol 2005; 8: 259 – 266. 107 Meier R, Burri E, Steuerwald M: The role of nutrition in diarrhea syndromes. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2003; 6: 563 – 567. 108 Alam NH, Meier R, Schneider H, et al: Partially hydrolyzed guar gum-supplemented oral rehydration solution in the treatment of acute diarrhea in children. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 2000; 31: 503 – 507. 09 Homann HH, Kemen M, Fuessenich C, et al: Reduction in diarrhea incidence by soluble fiber in patients receiving total or supplemental enteral nutrition. J PEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 1994; 18: 486 – 490. 110 Spapen H, Diltoer M, Van Malderen C, et al: Soluble fiber reduces the incidence of diarrhea in septic patients receiving total enteral nutrition: a prospective, double-blind, randomized, and controlled trial. Clin Nutr 2001; 20: 301 – 305. 111 Nakamura S, Hong R, Moji M, et al: Suppressive effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on transitory diarrhea induced by ingestion of maltitol and lactitol in healthy humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 2007; 61: 1086 – 1093. 12 Yang G, Wu X-T, Zhou Y, et al: Application of dietary fiber in clinical enteral nutrition: a meta-analysis of randomized, controlled trials. World J Gastroenterol 2005; 11: 3935 – 3938. 113 Parisi GC, Zilli M, Miani MP, et al: High-fiber diet supplementation in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): a multicenter, randomized, open trial comparison between Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 16 JL Slavin, V Savarino, A P aredes-Diaz et al. The health benefits of soluble fiber wheat bran diet and partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG). Dig Dis Sci 2002; 47: 1696 – 1704. 114 Deckmann RC, Cheskin LJ: Diverticular disease in the elderly. J Am Geriatr Soc 1993; 41: 986 – 993. 15 Aldoori WH, Giovannucci EL, Rockett HR, et al: A prospective study of dietary fiber types and symptomatic diverticular disease in men. J Nutr 1998; 128: 714 – 719. 116 Smits BJ, Whitehead AM, Prescott P: Lactulose in the treatment of symptomatic diverticular disease: a comparative study with high-fibre diet. Br J Clin Pract 1990; 44: 314 – 318. 117 Brodrib AJ: Treatment of symptomatic diverticular disease with a high-fibre diet. Lancet 1977; i: 664 – 668. 118 Marlett JA, McBurney MI, Slavin JL: Position of the American Dietetic Association: health implications of dietary fiber. J Am Diet Assoc 2002; 102: 933 – 1000. 119 Burkitt DP: Varicose veins, deep vein thrombosis and haemorrhoids: epid emiology and suggested aetiology. Br Med J 1972; 2: 556 – 561. 20 Alonso-Coello P, Mills E, Heels-Ansdell D, et al: Fiber for the treatment of hemorrhoids complications: a systematic review and metaanalysis. Am J Gastroenterol 2006; 101: 181 – 188. 121 Alonso-Coello P, Guyatt G, Heels-Ansdell D, et al: Laxatives for the treatment of hemorrhoids. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2005, Issue 4 Art No: CD004649. DOI: 10. 1002/ 14651858. CD004649. pub2. 122 Khaw KT, Barrett-Connor E: Dietary fiber and reduced ischemic heart disease mortality rates in men and women: a 12-year prospective study. Am J Epidemiol 1987; 126: 1093 – 1102. 123 Rimm EB, Ascherio A, Giovannucci E, et al: Vegetable, fruit, and cereal fiber intake and risk of coronary heart disease among men. JAMA 1996; 275: 447 – 451. 24 Todd S, Woodward M, Tunstall-Pedoe H, et al: Dietary antioxidant vitamins and fiber in the etiology of cardiovascular disease and allcauses mortality: results from the Scotti sh Heart Health Study. Am J Epidemiol 1999; 150: 1073 – 1080. 125 Wolk A, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al: Longterm intake of dietary fiber and decreased risk of coronary heart disease among women. JAMA 1999; 281: 1998 – 2004. 126 Bazzano LA, He J, Ogden LG, et al: Dietary fiber intake and reduced risk of coronary heart disease in US men and women: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study. Arch Intern Med 2003; 163: 1897 – 1904. 27 Jenkins DJA, Vuksan V, Kendall CWC, et al: Physiological effects of resistant starches on fecal bulk, short chain fatty acids, blood lipids and glycemic index. J Am Coll Nutr 1998; 17: 609 – 616. 128 Elmer PJ, Obarzanek E, Vollmer WM: Effects of comprehensive lifestyle modification on diet, weight, physical fitness, and blood pressure control: 18-month results of a randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 2006; 144: 485 – 495. 129 Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, et al: A prospective study of nutritional factors and hypertension among US men. Circulation 1992; 86: 1475 – 1484. 130 Ascherio A, Hennekens C, Willett WC, et al: Prospective study of nutritional factors, blood pressure, and hypertension among US women. Hypertension 1996; 27: 1065 – 1072. 31 Keenan JM, Pins JJ, Frazel C, et al: Oat ingestion reduces systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with mild or borderline hypertension: a pilot trial. J Fam Pract 2002; 51: 369. 132 He J, Streiffer RH, Muntner P, et al: Effect of dietary fiber intake on blood pressure: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. J Hypertens 2004; 22: 73 – 80. 133 Ascherio A, Rimm EB, Hernan MA, et al: Intake of potassium, magnesium, calcium, and fiber and risk of stroke among US men. Circulation 1998; 98: 1198 – 1204. 134 Ford ES, Liu S: Glycemic index and serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration among US adults. Arch Intern Med 2001; 161: 572 – 576. 35 Liu S, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, et al: Dietary glycemic load assessed by food-frequency questionnaire in relation to plasma highdensity-lipoprotein cholesterol and fasting plasma triacylglycerols in postmenopausal women. Am J Clin Nutr 2001; 73: 560 – 566. 136 Walker AR: Dietary fibre and mineral metabolism. Mol Aspects Med 1987; 9: 69 – 87. 137 Torre M, Rodriguez AR, Saura-Calixto F: Effects of dietary fiber and phytic acid on mineral availability. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr 1991; 30: 1 – 22. 138 Slavin JL, Greenberg NA: Partially hydrolyzed guar gum: clinical nutrition uses. Nutrition 2003; 19: 549 – 552. Author’s address for correspondence Dr Joanne L Slavin Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota,1334 Eckles Avenue, St Paul, MN 55108, USA. E-mail: [email  protected] edu Downloaded from imr. sagepub. com by guest on March 27, 2013 17