Effects of the dietary fiber meal for the breath hydrogen and the human body

Abstract

　The breath hydrogen (H₂) excretion and subjective symptoms were measured during expiration for eight hours after a meal intake (used four kinds of examination meals) by healthy humans for the purpose of clarifying the effectiveness of the dietary fiber meal. The subjects of the breath H₂ analysis were five or seven young healthy women.The examination meals B and D had a greater intake and quantity of dietary fiber than the A and C test meals, and the breath H₂ quantity was significantly higher (p<0.05, p<0.01). The max breath H₂ quantity for B was 40.6±17.8ppm (p<0.05), and for D were 38.8±28.3ppm (p<0.01) which were significantly higher than A and C. Each total breath H₂ of A, B, C and D was 5463, 7221, 2337 and 6955ppm×min, respectively. The small intestine transit time of A, B, C and D was 334±25, 285±14, 273±32min and 273±26min, respectively. No significant difference was seen between A and B, and C and D. The blood sugar was not influenced by the meals. The cross point of time of while feeling hunger and the feeling of a full stomach of A and B was both of 210min, C was 255min, and D was 255min. The meal with more carbohydrates, like D, was able to provide a feeling of a full stomach that lasted for a long time. The D food consisting of more dietary fiber produced more H₂, and it is thought that H₂ is involved in the removal of the active oxygen. The dietary fiber rich meal is regarded as an effective meal for increasing the breath H₂ production.