Big Population Study Links Fiber Intake to Heart Health

Fiber intake comes with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a large-scale study published in the August issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

Researchers spent 14 years of follow-up on 58,730 Japanese men and women, ages 40 to 79, who submitted food frequency questionnaires relating to their fiber intakes.

The results indicate that higher total fiber intake was associated with a lower incidence of death from CVD in both men and women. The association was evident from all fiber intakes except for vegetale fiber.

"The inverse association of fruit and cereal fiber intakes, but not vegetable fiber intake, with mortality from CHD (coronary heart disease) in the present study were consistent with findings from previous studies,"wrote the study author.

The Japanese study excluded subjects with known cardiovascular or cancer disease, but the authors claim one weakness of the study was a lack of multiple measures on the diet; subject eating habits could likely have changed over the long course of the study.

To read the full text of this study, visit the Journal of Nutrition..