495897 Tue Mar 04 23:39:12 -0800 2008 10 27 General Chowhounding Topics 0 3461179 Please does anyone know what effect (if any) liquidizing/processing has on fiber content? I'm thinking along the lines of veg. soup or pureed carrots etc. Thanks. Tue Mar 04 23:39:12 -0800 2008 156990 Robin Joy 1 3461688 Fiber content remains the same after processing. Wed Mar 05 07:24:39 -0800 2008 3461179 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 3461858 Are you sure? My wife learned that mechanically breaking down Fiber (to a greater fineness than our digestive trac) actually will make more starches & sugars available for absorption... i.e, reducing the amount of Insoluble Fiber & increasing the amount of calories albeit not in significant amounts. An interesting thing to note.... is that pureeing vegetables like Brocoli will convert some of the fiber from insoluble to soluble.... this is interesting because soluble fiber is the same kind that is found in Oats & Beans which helps reduce cholesterol etc., while insoluble is more for speeding up transit... so if you add a little cream to your Brocoli soup its at least partially offset by the soluble fiber "generated" via pureeing. Wed Mar 05 08:10:41 -0800 2008 3461688 42572 Eat_Nopal 1 3461742 If you're just pureeing a soup or veg. but not straining it in any way, then the content's the same. If you're "liquidizing" it in, say, a centrifugal juicer, then the fiber is removed. Wed Mar 05 07:43:05 -0800 2008 3461179 11404 gansu girl 1 3461890 The "effect" is to grind it up into smaller pieces. Unless you remove something, like by straining, the total fiber content stays the same. There are a number of sorts of veg "fibers" some or which may become more digestible for the grinding, some of which it won't affect (eg, we don't digest cellulose no matter how small the bits are.) Wed Mar 05 08:18:35 -0800 2008 3461179 11980 MikeG 1 3464839 Thank you for the thoughtful comments. I'm asking because I want my sons (11 & 15) to get plenty of roughage/fiber (are they the same thing?). I personally try to eat just fruit/celery/tomatoes befire noon so I can then go mad! Wed Mar 05 22:32:41 -0800 2008 3461179 156990 Robin Joy 2 3465662 One thing... I double check... and I was wrong that you can turn Insoluble to Soluble mechanically... instead food has something called Resistant Starches that are Carbs that our body cannot digest... so in essence they are fiber / roughage.... however when we puree vegetables and/or fruits... the Resistant Starches are actually broken down and do make some of the Carbs available... however it will increase caloric content by more than 5%. Thu Mar 06 08:44:54 -0800 2008 3464839 42572 Eat_Nopal 2 3467237 All roughage is fiber, but not all fiber is roughage. I'm certainly not a nutritionist and only pay half attention, but in general I'd think you'd want "plenty" of fiber of all sorts. To the extent any of it does use specific good, they don't really know what/why so I figure, spread your bets. ;) Soup will give them what the vegs will, but if you look at most recipes, there's not that much per serving, so it might only be a slight help. Pureeing carrots, or mixing them and/or other root vegs with mashed potatoes might help though at that age you still have a little room to just force decent eating habits on them. ;) Tomato juice/V8 actually has a fair amount of fiber; apple cider - not juice - too. Presumably apple sauce too. Thu Mar 06 14:29:31 -0800 2008 3464839 11980 MikeG 1 3465691 Just remember that a glass of metamucil has lots of dietary fibre yet is easily dissolved in water. Thu Mar 06 08:49:12 -0800 2008 3461179 10980 Blueicus 2 3465721 But as I understand it, its all soluble fiber and not insoluble (roughage). Thu Mar 06 08:54:07 -0800 2008 3465691 42572 Eat_Nopal 2 3467397 also, it's probably a good idea to get your fiber primarily through food Thu Mar 06 15:11:54 -0800 2008 3465691 66936 qwertyu