Fiber the latest ingredient in fortification craze
Fiber the latest ingredient in fortification craze
Does fortification craze meet your nutrition needs? Your mother called it roughage, and prunes were once the poster child. Now fiber holds the coveted spot as the new "it" ingredient.
Throughout the years, fiber has fallen in and out of favor. (Remember the oat bran craze of the late '80s?) Today it's back on top and popping up in some unexpected places -- ranging from yogurt, cottage cheese and ice cream to cookies, toaster pastries and snack bars. (Read about four ways to get fiber here)
You can even drink your fiber. No, we're not talking about Metamucil, or other laxatives -- which, by the way, have been transformed into "fiber supplements." Now you can buy fiber-fortified juices, powdered drink mixes and bottled waters, or sprinkle packets of Splenda with fiber in your coffee.
"Fiber has emerged as a functional food favorite," said Tom Vierhile, director of Datamonitor's Product Launch Analytics. The New York-based market research firm reports that 7 percent of all new food products introduced in 2009 had a "high fiber" claim. (Functional foods, or products that provide a specific health benefit, typically rely on some type of fortification.)
We are going to be the most cleaned out people on earth. Is there a new fad diet with this concept that is popular now or something? That's how we got all the "low carb" stuff.