The effect of ingestion of inulin on blood lipids and gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy females

The effect of a daily intake of 14g inulin added to a low-fat spread on fasting blood lipids and gastrointestinal symptoms was investigated in sixty-four young healthy women in a randomized double-blind crossover study involving two periods of 4 weeks. The test spread with and without inulin replaced habitual spread during the test periods. No significant differences between the test periods in plasma total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triacylglycerol concentrations were observed. Gastrointestinal symptoms assessed with questionnaires showed that in the inulin period there was a significantly (P<0.05) higher degree of discomfort from flatulence and other gastrointestinal symptoms than in the control period. In general, there was no indication of intestinal adaptation to this level of intake of inulin.