Eating more fiber is a great way to jump start a healthy diet, say health experts.
Now new research says it could do much more–for your longevity.
According to a new study from the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China, people whose diets were the highest in fiber were 16 percent less likely to die from chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.
“On average, intakes of dietary fiber in the U.S. and other economically developed countries are much lower than recommended goals–in the U.S., about half of what is advised,” says Victoria Burley, a University of Leeds nutrition researcher who was not involved in the study. “[These results are] very much in line with earlier published meta-analyses of the relationship between dietary fiber and risk of major chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, and cancers.”
The study, which was first reported by Reuters Health, examined a total of 17 studies that tracked data from over 982,000 men and women in the United States and Europe. In these studies, their intake of fiber was carefully detailed, which researchers used to determine how it affected their risk of certain diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease.
To do so, all participants were ranked and placed in five groups based on their daily fiber intake, then had their risk of death assessed. As it turned out, those who ate the most amount of fiber lowered their overall risk of death–by as much as 16 percent.
Those who ate the least amount of fiber weren’t so lucky, however.
“A higher dietary fiber intake was associated with a reduced risk of death,” write researchers in the online version of the American Journal of Epidemiology. “These findings suggest that fiber intake may offer a potential public health benefit in reducing all-cause mortality. When comparing persons with dietary fiber intakes in the top tertile with persons whose intakes were in the bottom tertile, we found a statistically significant inverse association between fiber intake and all-cause mortality, with an overall relative risk of 0.84.”
How to Eat More Fiber
Fiber matters in your diet–especially if you want to live a longer, healthier life. Doing so is easier said than done, however; most Americans don’t eat enough fiber, admit researchers.
Luckily, adding more fiber into your diet needn’t be a difficult task, says Jessica Shapiro, a wellness dietitian at the Montefiore Medicine Center in New York.
“Eating a variety of foods that are high in fiber at each meal and snack, such as fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, beans, legumes, seeds and nuts [can help],” says Shapiro. “Your body needs time to adjust, so increase fiber content slowly and make sure to consume extra water while doing so to help with digestion.”
So fill up–it could be a life saver.
Readers: Do you eat enough fiber?
Sources:
Higher Fiber Diet Linked to Lower Risk of Death – FoxNews.com
Association Between Dietary Fiber and Lower Risk of All-Cause Mortality – OxfordJournals.org
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