The invention relates to novel inulin products and compositions thereof, to their manufacture and to their use for modulating the bacterial flora and the fermentation pattern of inulin in the large intestine of humans and mammals, to their use for providing improved inulin-associated nutritional effects/benefits, and to their use for the manufacture of a pharmaceutical composition for providing said effects/benefits in humans and mammals. The novel inulin products consist of a mixture of an easily fermentable inulin (EFI) component (preferably an oligofructose, an agave inulin, or a mixture thereof) and a hardly fermentable inulin (HFI) component (preferably a long-chain inulin with a (DP) &ge； 20, typically chicory inulin with a (DP) &ge； 23), in a weight ratio ranging from 10/90 to 70/30. The nutritional effects include improved mineral absorption, particularly calcium and magnesium, bone mineral density increase, reduction of bone mineral density loss, improvement of bone structure, modulation of lipid metabolism, stimulation of the immune system, and anti-cancer effects. The novel inulin products are particularly suitable for the manufacture of a composition or a medicament for preventing, for postponing and for treating osteoporosis in humans, particularly postmenopausal women.
