The Family of Dietary Fibers

Dietary fiber is a family of components, which are found throughout the food supply. To realize the benefits of dietary fiber and to address the extreme gap between recommendations and intake, it is important to consume dietary fiber from a variety of sources. To address the concerns of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, this article reviews the gap between recommended and actual intakes and outlines the definitions of fiber that are operative worldwide, sources of dietary fiber, and strategies to improve intake with fiber-rich foods.