Taiyo Introduces New Blood Sugar Balancing Sunfiber Varieties

19 May 2017 --- Taiyo has presented new varieties of its all-natural, soluble dietary fiber Sunfiber, which can now also be used as a sweetener. During Vitafoods Europe, the company also showed solutions that contribute to balanced blood sugar levels. The sugar-like taste profile of Sweet-Sunfiber and Sunfiber-Matcha honey, as well as their special technological properties, give end products a pleasant sweetness and texture. In addition, consumers benefit from the health-boosting advantages of the prebiotic fiber, the company reported.

The Sweet-Sunfiber compound combines Sunfiber with isomalto-oligosaccharide, a natural component of honey or sugar cane, which provides foods with a sugar-like sweetness profile. Due to its non-cariogenic properties, isomalto-oligosaccharide is tooth-friendly and has a low glycemic index. It gets metabolized more slowly than normal sugar, which is why blood glucose levels rises less sharply too. This healthy alternative to conventional sugars helps to reduce blood sugar spikes and decrease the amount of insulin released in the body.

In addition, the fiber in the functional compound has various prebiotic properties, promoting the growth of short-chain fatty acids in the colon, which, in the long-term helps to prevent nutrition-related diseases.

The Sunfiber range also offers optimized technological benefits. The ingredients are highly water soluble, stable at different pH levels and temperatures, and can therefore be used for a variety of applications, such as dairy and bakery products, meats and sausages, beverages, ice-creams and confectioneries.

The bio-certified Sunfiber-Matcha Honey convinces with an exciting mixture of sweetness and a refreshingly herbal green tea flavor. In addition, it is a healthy alternative to saccharose; Matcha is known for its antioxidant activity, whereas honey has antibacterial properties.

"Whether for health reasons or as a part of a diet, more and more consumers are reducing their sugar consumption. As a result, the demand for reduced sugar products or foods with alternative sweetening solutions is increasing. Taiyo recognizes these consumer demands and now offers sweet Sunfiber varieties, functional ingredients that have a balanced sweet profile. At the same time, they provide well-tolerated dietary fibers and can be used in many applications," says Dr. Stefan Siebrecht, Managing Director of Taiyo GmbH.

The Sunfiber portfolio qualifies as an organic material, is non-GMO and a 100% gluten-free product. It is Kosher and Halal certified and suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

Recently, NutritionInsight spoke with Dr. Siebrecht on the Sunfiber range as well as the FODMAP trend (short for Fermentable, Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols).

“Health officials advise IBS patients take Sunfiber. We even have a health claim in Canada for Sunfiber against IBS. Scientists find that Sunfiber can be safely consumed even by sensitive people up to 20g a day,” Siebrecht explained.

“Many producers of dietary fibers worry now, about the Low-FODMAP trend as it could hit their products directly, but this is a trend that is good for Taiyo – we are profiting from it, and also the consumers as they start to get know aware of the negative influence of these FODMAP’s on their intestinal health,” he added.