This review describes the basic concepts, major controversies and common misconceptions on the balance of dietary fibers. Dietary fiber refers to the polysaccharides in human plant foods, which are not hydrolyzed by the en-dogenous enzymes in the small intestine, but are the main carbon source of bacterial metabolism in the larger intestine. Short chain fatty acids, of which are the major end products of the dietary fiber fermentation, are not only the major en-ergy source of the colonic epithelial cells, but more importantly, participate in the physiological regulation of the body. The lack of dietary fibers is one of the key causes for the high incidence of modern civilization diseases such as diabetes. The biggest gap of dietary fibers is not cellulose, pectin, inulin, resistant starch or oligosaccharides, but hemicelluloses, particularly the lack of xylan with the refined staple food model. A balanced diet is the fundamental way to achieve the balance of dietary fibers. A feasible remedy might be the intervention with hemicelluloses complexes that mimic the fiber composition of balanced diet. The fiber composition of ancient human diet could be served as the healthy reference for the balance of dietary fibers in the modern time.%本文介绍膳食纤维平衡的基本概念、主要争议及常见误解.膳食纤维是指人类植物性食物中不被小肠酶消化的多糖,是大肠细菌代谢的主要碳源.大肠细菌发酵膳食纤维的主要终产物短链脂肪酸,不仅是结肠上皮细胞的主要能量来源,更重要的是参与机体生理调节.膳食纤维缺乏是糖尿病等现代文明病高发的关键原因之一.当代缺口最大的膳食纤维不是纤维素、果胶、菊粉(果聚糖)、抗性淀粉或低聚糖,而是半纤维素,尤以精米白面膳食模式造成的木聚糖缺乏最为严重.平衡膳食是实现膳食纤维平衡的根本之道.模拟平衡膳食条件下的半纤维素组成进行干预是可行的补救途径.古人类膳食的纤维组成是衡量现代人膳食纤维平衡与否的基准.
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