Fiber Reduces Disease and Obesity Risks

Category: Diet and Nutrition

The cross-sectional study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2005, vol. 82, no. 6), investigated the relation between dietary fiber intake and cardiovascular disease risk factors, including obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension in adults. French researchers from the Faculte' de Me'decine in Marseille, France, analyzed dietary information from a cross-sectional study of fiber intake determined from the dietary records of 2,532 men and 3,429 women in France.

The researchers found that participants with the highest intake of dietary fiber and non-soluble dietary fiber had a significantly lower risk of being overweight. Findings also revealed that high fiber intake was associated with beneficial effects on cardiac risk factor markers including waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, plasma apolipoprotein (apo) B, cholesterol, triglycerols, and homocysteine. Furthermore, fiber from cereal, vegetables, fruit, and dried fruit or nuts and seeds was associated with a lower body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, homocysteine levels, waist-to-hip ratio, and fasting apolipoprotein (apo) B and glucose levels.

"Our data show that total dietary fiber intakes 25 grams provide a significantly reduced risk of elevated BMI, waist-to-hip ratio, plasma cholesterol, and hypertension - 4 key cardiovascular disease risk factors," the study authors write. "These findings suggest that 25 grams total dietary fiber per day is the minimum intake required to achieve a significant protective effect against cardiovascular disease; however, total dietary fiber intakes of 30-35 g/d will provide an even greater protective effect."

Posted by Kristopher Foster on November 17, 2013 10:00 AM