This is the text that I published in the International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association news letter.
Introducing the elephant in the room
“When there's an elephant in the room, you can't pretend it isn't there and just discuss the ants. ” ― Ellen Wittlinger
When we talk about fruit and vegetables we often praise their obvious properties that typically come to us from popular culture. Iron in spinach, vitamin C in orange juice, or the phytonutrients and antioxidants that give fruit and vegetables their beautiful color. What is often mentioned in passing is that fruit and vegetables also contain fiber. This is akin to someone studying the gravitational pull of the planets and the moon on Earth, and mentioning in passing that the sun is a beautiful star when in actual fact it accounts for over 99% of all gravitational forces on planet earth.
The same is likely true for fiber: It is the root cause behind the vast health benefits of fruit and vegetables, but somehow we seem to pay more attention and money for drinks with super-fruits, antioxidants, and vitamins. The average consumer barely takes notice of the fiber content.
There is a sizable body of research and meta-analyses that show that for every additional gram of fiber, all-cause mortality is reduced by 1%. In other words, if we consume the amount of fiber we ought to consume (about 10g more than we consume on average), this would translate into a 10% reduction in all-cause mortality. Increasing fiber consumption, therefore, will add many years of healthy and enjoyable life. To put this in context: there is no drug or other health intervention on earth that can do this on a mass scale. The covid-19 vaccination does not even come close to saving lives (maybe the Smallpox immunization).
All-cause -mortality is the most rigorous way to measure a health benefit because it measures all positive and negative effects. Given the powerful impact of fiber on all-cause mortality, the immediate question is whether fiber also has a beneficial effect on specific diseases? The answer is a resounding yes! Fiber reduces the risks of the big killers such as cardiovascular disease, or certain cancers by double-digit percentages, due to fiber’s profound impact on our digestive, metabolic, hormonal, immune, and cardiovascular systems. This happens through its direct chemistry (e.g., absorption of sugar) and through its indirect chemistry, as a result of the metabolites formed by our gut bacteria when they ferment fiber (e.g., short-chain fatty acids). The extensive evidence from observational studies is also supported by intervention studies for a range of disease markers, like obesity, blood lipids, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, systemic inflammation, or IBS.
Much research has focused on looking for the beneficial impact of individual natural ingredients found in this or that super-fruit in part because of the hope that they could be patented. But remember that when people test one benefit, such as reduction of a disease marker, they often do not look at any side effects that may balance the positive. So something that is beneficial for cardiovascular health, may cause certain cancers, thus undoing some or all of its positive value. Fiber does not suffer this. Its benefits suffice to explain the lion's share of the health-promoting value of fruit, vegetables, seeds, grains, nuts, herbs, etc. (thus the all-cause-mortality evidence).
“When there’s an elephant in the room introduce him.”― Randy Pausch
In summary, there is a very high likelihood that the main health-enhancing effect of whole fruit and vegetables is due to the presence of fiber. When we produce a juice we remove a substantial part of this fiber and it is imperative for all producers to find ways of adding that life-giving fiber back into the consumer product. Fiber is not a mega-trend yet, but don’t be caught off guard, because it certainly will be.
"Hii ni kwa sababu ya makala ya ""Mafaa ya Matunda na Mboga ya Kimataifa"" iliyochapishwa na Chama cha International Fruit and Vegetable Juice Association." Kuanzisha tembo katika chumba <unk> Wakati kuna tembo katika chumba, huwezi kujifanya ni si huko na tu kujadili chungu. Ellen Wittlinger: Wakati tunazungumza juu ya matunda na mboga, mara nyingi tunasifu sifa zao dhahiri ambazo kwa kawaida hutokea kwetu kutoka kwa utamaduni maarufu. Chuma katika mchicha, vitamini C katika maji ya machungwa, au phytonutrients na antioxidants ambayo kutoa matunda na mboga rangi yao nzuri. Mara nyingi inatajwa kwa njia ya kupita kwamba matunda na mboga pia zina nyuzi. "Hii ni kama mtu kujifunza nguvu ya mvuto wa sayari na mwezi juu ya Dunia, na kutaja katika kupita kwamba jua ni nyota nzuri wakati katika ukweli halisi ni akaunti kwa zaidi ya 99% ya nguvu zote za mvuto juu ya sayari ya dunia. """ "Hiyo ni kweli kwa ajili ya nyuzi: ni sababu ya msingi nyuma ya faida kubwa ya afya ya matunda na mboga, lakini kwa njia fulani tunaonekana kulipa tahadhari zaidi na fedha kwa vinywaji na super-matunda, antioxidants na vitamini.""" Mtumiaji wa kawaida huona kidogo sana kiasi cha nyuzi zilizo ndani. Kwa mfano, utafiti wa meta-uchambuzi unaonyesha kwamba kila gramu ya nyuzi ya ziada hupunguza vifo kwa sababu zote kwa asilimia 1. Kwa maneno mengine, ikiwa tunatumia kiasi cha nyuzi tunapaswa kula (karibu 10g zaidi ya wastani wetu), hii itatafsiri kuwa kupunguzwa kwa 10% katika vifo vya sababu zote. Kwa hiyo, kuongezeka kwa matumizi ya nyuzi kutaongeza miaka mingi ya maisha yenye afya na yenye kufurahisha. Kwa kuzingatia hii, hakuna dawa au hatua nyingine ya afya duniani ambayo inaweza kufanya hivyo kwa kiwango kikubwa. """Tumekuwa tukifanya kazi kwa bidii sana na tumefanikiwa sana, lakini hakuna chanjo ya COVID-19 ambayo imepungua sana, na hakuna chanjo ya ugonjwa wa chembechembe ambayo imepungua sana." Kifo cha sababu zote ni njia ya ukali zaidi ya kupima faida ya afya kwa sababu hupima athari zote nzuri na hasi. Kwa kuzingatia athari kubwa ya nyuzi kwenye vifo vya sababu zote, swali la haraka ni ikiwa nyuzi pia zina athari nzuri kwa magonjwa maalum? Jibu ni ndiyo yenye kusikika! Fiber hupunguza hatari ya mauaji makubwa kama vile ugonjwa wa moyo na mishipa, au saratani fulani kwa asilimia mbili, kutokana na athari kubwa ya fiber kwenye mfumo wetu wa kumeng'enya, kimetaboliki, homoni, kinga, na moyo na mishipa. Hii hufanyika kupitia kemikali yake ya moja kwa moja (kwa mfano, kunyonya sukari) na kupitia kemikali yake isiyo ya moja kwa moja, kama matokeo ya metabolites iliyoundwa na bakteria zetu za matumbo wakati wa kuchaji nyuzi (kwa mfano, asidi za mafuta za mlolongo mfupi). Utafiti wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi wa uchunguzi. Utafiti mwingi umezingatia athari nzuri za viungo vya asili vilivyopatikana katika matunda haya, kwa sehemu kwa sababu ya matumaini ya kuwa na hati miliki. Lakini kumbuka kwamba wakati watu wanapojaribu faida moja, kama vile kupunguzwa kwa alama ya ugonjwa, mara nyingi hawatazami athari zozote za upande ambazo zinaweza kusawazisha chanya. Kwa hivyo kitu ambacho ni chenye faida kwa afya ya moyo na mishipa ya damu, kinaweza kusababisha saratani fulani, na hivyo kuondoa baadhi au thamani yake yote chanya. Fiber haipatwi na jambo hilo. Faida zake zinatosha kuelezea sehemu kubwa ya thamani ya kukuza afya ya matunda, mboga, mbegu, nafaka, karanga, mimea, nk. (kwa hiyo ushahidi wa vifo vya sababu zote). "Kama kuna tembo katika chumba, kumtambulisha. "" - Randy Pausch Kwa muhtasari, kuna uwezekano mkubwa kwamba athari kuu ya kuongeza afya ya matunda na mboga nzima ni kutokana na uwepo wa nyuzi." Wakati wa kutengeneza juisi, tunaondoa sehemu kubwa ya nyuzi hizi, na ni muhimu kwa wazalishaji wote kupata njia za kuongeza nyuzi hizo za uhai katika bidhaa za watumiaji. Fiber si mega-mwenendo bado, lakini si kuwa hawakupata off ulinzi, kwa sababu ni hakika itakuwa.