[Fiber in the diet--certainties and speculation].

This report defines dietary fibre and summarizes its effects on dental, gastrointestinal and metabolic diseases. A higher intake of dietary fibre is important in prophylaxis of caries, paradentosis, constipation, diverticulosis, colon cancer, diabetes and hypercholesteraemia. An ideal preparation must have the following abilities: It should be coarse, hard and swallowable and without cariogenic sugars in order to prevent dental diseases. It should be a mixture of several kinds of fibre getting water binding capacity and bile acid binding capacity. Mechanical crushing and heatening of fibre are to be avoided. The preparation should not contain phytic acid.