ABSTRACT
Among the major nutrients (some of the carbohydrates that resist digestion in the upper digestive tract and that are fermented in the large bowel, the so-called nondigestible carbohydrates), some which classify as dietary fiber (see Chapter 4 and Chapter 6) have been shown to positively modulate either the digestion and absorption or the metabolism of triglycerides-triacylglycerols or cholesterol. Indeed, when the dietary intake of such carbohydrates (e.g., resistant starch,
b
-glucans, pectins, gums, and inulin-type fructans) increases, triglyceridemia (the concentration of triglycerides-triacylglycerols in blood) and/or cholesterolaemia (the concentration of total or lipoprotein-bound cholesterol in blood) may decrease. Moreover, the distribution of the lipids between the different lipoproteins may also change in favor of a more beneficial pattern for health.
