Most people know a high-fiber diet is good for them, but they may not be sure why. Fiber helps with digestion and appetite control, in addition to certain types of fiber helping to lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and maintains healthy blood sugar levels. Soon, it will be even easier to get these health benefits from fiber, as food manufacturers begin adding barley betafiber to their products. Barlív barley betafiber is a new, soluble fiber that it is invisible, when added to foods and beverages; it has also been clinically shown to lower LDL cholesterol. It is a concentrated soluble fiber derived from whole- grain barley. Foods containing this fiber can have cholesterol-lowering properties similar to oats. Human clinical study using Barlív barley betafiber revealed that people who consumed it for six weeks reduced their LDL (bad) cholesterol by 10%, on average.

The FDA has examined the research on barley betafiber and cholesterol reduction and now allow qualifying foods containing the ingredient to carry a health claim on their labels: “Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol that include 3g per day of beta-glucan soluble fiber from barley betafiber may reduce the risk of heart disease.” Barlív barley betafiber is the only barley beta-glucan concentrate that is authorized to use this FDA health claim. Watch for Barlív barley betafiber to start showing up on food labels of everything from beverages to snacks and cereals. Cargill, www.cargill.com

From the February 16, 2009, Prepared Foods E-dition