In The News: More Evidence That Increased Dietary Fiber Intake May Help Ward Off Cardiovascular Disease!

It's no secret that increasing fiber in the diet has many benefits, one of them being offering protection from cardiovascular disease.  A recent publication in The British Journal of Medicine adds more proof to the current pile of evidence about this very topic!

This report included a systematic review of more than 22 cohort studies with information regarding total dietary fiber intake, fiber subtypes, or fiber from food sources and primary events of cardiovascular disease or coronary heart disease. All studies had a follow-up of at least three years and were published between the dates of January, 1st 1990 and August, 6th 2013. The majority of the studies adjusted for important confounders such as age, sex, education or class, and smoking status in their analyses, (but not all studies adjusted for other potentially important confounders such as physical activity or other dietary factors. )The researchers found that total dietary fiber intake was inversely associated with the risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. Insoluble fiber and fiber from cereal and vegetable sources were also inversely associated with the risk of CHD and CVD. Fruit fiber intake was inversely associated with just the risk of CVD. In addition, the findings showed that  every additional 7 g per day of total fiber consumed significantly lowered the risk of of both CVD and CHD by 9%. 

A nice summary of the findings can be found in this article in Nutraceuticals World and click here for the abstract from the BMJ.

So add some fiber to your day with some whole grain breads and cereals, brown rice, quinoa, popcorn, fruits, veggies, legumes and nuts.  A food is considered a good source of fiber if it offers at least 3 grams per serving when you are checking out the label.

And the good news for my readers is that most of my recipes meet this high fiber criteria!!