Hear fiber and you probably think of bran cereal, which doesn't exactly make
you salivate. But new research suggests more fiber could equal more years.
Analyzing data from nearly 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71, researchers
found that those who consumed the most fiber were 22 percent less likely to
die from any cause during the nine years they were studied.
Men were 24 to 56 percent and women 34 to 59 percent less likely to die of
heart and infectious or respiratory diseases, according to findings from the
National Institutes of Health's AARP Diet and Health Study, published today
in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Why fiber reduces the risk of early death is unclear. Perhaps it's because
fiber lowers levels of "bad" LDL cholesterol, improves blood glucose levels,
reduces inflammation, and binds to potential cancer-causing agents, helping
to flush them out of the body, says lead author Yikyung Park, a staff
scientist at the National Cancer Institute. What is clear, however, is that
participants only benefited when fiber came from grains, like oatmeal,
cornmeal, and brown rice.