High-fiber diet linked to lower risk of death and chronic diseases
People who eat diets that are high in fiber have lower risk of death and chronic diseases such as stroke or cancer compared with people with low fiber intake, a new analysis found.Dietary fiber includes plant-based carbohydrates such as whole-grain cereal, seeds and some legumes. Fiber's health benefits have been recorded "by over 100 years of research," Andrew Reynolds, a researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand, wrote in an email. He is co-author of the new meta-analysis of existing research, which was published Thursday in the journal The Lancet.
The research shows that higher intakes of fiber "led to a reduced incidence of a surprisingly broad range of relevant diseases (heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer)," reduced body weight and total cholesterol, and reduced mortality, Reynolds wrote. Similar findings were shown with increasing whole-grain intakes.
Reynolds' team was commissioned by the World Health Organization to inform future fiber intake recommendations.The researchers analyzed over 180 observational studies and 50 clinical trials from the past four decades; that's the strength of the analysis, explained co-author Jim Mann, professor of human nutrition and medicine at the University of Otago.
"The health benefits of dietary fiber appear to be even greater than we thought previously," Mann said of the results.The analysis found a 15% to 30% reduced risk of death and chronic diseases in people who included the most fiber in their diets, compared with those with the lowest intake.A fiber-rich diet was linked, on average, to a 22% reduced risk of stroke, a 16% lower risk of Type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer, and a 30% reduced risk of death from coronary heart disease.
Posted by admin
on Jan 16 2019. Filed under Food security.
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