People who eat diets that are high in fiber have lower risk of death and chronic diseases such as stroke or cancer, 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," researchers at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said. The research shows that higher intakes of fiber "led to a reduced incidence of a broad range of diseases (heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer)," reduced body weight and total cholesterol, and reduced mortality.
"The health benefits of dietary fiber appear to be even greater than we thought previously," another researcher said. 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. Most people globally consume about 20 grams of dietary fiber per day, researcher said of the findings. Based on the research, he recommends 25 grams to 29 grams of fiber each day. Higher quantity are even more beneficial, according to the analysis.
A 15-gram increase in whole grains consumed per day was associated with a 2% to 19% reduction in total deaths and incidences of coronary heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and colorectal cancer. The study notes that the relationships between high fiber/whole grain consumption and reduced noncommunicable diseases could be causal. The analysis found no dangers with a high fiber intake. But it adds that for people with an iron deficiency, high levels of whole grains can further reduce iron levels. The authors note that carbohydrates include sugars, starches and dietary fiber. "However sugars, starches, and fibres are all carbohydrates that perform different roles in the body," they said. Fiber content was shown to be a better indicator of a carbohydrate food's ability to prevent disease than glycemic index, the measure of the degree to which blood glucose goes up after a particular food is eaten.
