Table 1.

Summary of the health benefits of dietary fibre.

Effect	Health Benefit
Metabolic	Improved insulin sensitivity (mainly insoluble fibres), reduced risk of developing T2D (mainly insoluble cereal fibres and whole grains) Improved glycaemic status and lipid profiles (mainly soluble fibres), reduced body weight and abdominal adiposity
Gut microflora	Gut microbial viability and diversity, metabolites from gut microflora (including SCFAs)
Cardiovascular	Chronic inflammation, cardiovascular risk, mortality
Depression	Chronic inflammation, gut microbiota
Gastrointestinal Localised	Colonic health and integrity, colonic motility, colorectal carcinoma

SCFAs = Short Chain Fatty Acids; T2D = Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.