Get the Facts on Fibre

Fibre and Heart Disease

If we were to sit down and have a "heart to heart," I would tell you that one of the best things that you could do on your own to protect your heart is to follow a high-fibre diet. Numerous studies have produced compelling evidence to support this. In a Harvard study of over 40,000 male health professionals, researchers found that a high total dietary fibre intake was linked to a 40% lower risk of coronary heart disease, compared to a low-fibre intake. Another study of over 31,000 California Seventh-day Adventists found a 44% reduced risk of nonfatal coronary heart disease and an 11% reduced risk of fatal coronary heart disease for those who ate whole wheat bread compared with those who ate white bread. One minor change in their diets provided a protective effect that could save their lives.

Another strong predictor of heart disease is abnormal blood cholesterol, LDL, and/or HDL levels. It appears that soluble fibre reduces the absorption of cholesterol in your intestines by binding with bile (which contains cholesterol) and dietary cholesterol so that the body excretes it. The oat bran and bean fibre intervention trials where dietary fibre supplementation was combined with a low-fat diet shows that reductions in total cholesterol levels ranged from 8-26%. Other studies have shown that 5 to 10 grams of soluble fibre a day decreases LDL cholesterol by about 5%. All of these benefits will occur regardless of changes in dietary fat. In a trial with low fat and low fat plus high fibre groups, the group consuming high fibre exhibited a greater average reduction (13%) in total cholesterol concentration than the low fat (9%) and the usual diet (7%) groups. It seems that you don't have to change everything to gain something.

- Fibre and Digestive Health
- Fibre and Weight Loss
- Fibre and Diabetes
- Fibre and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

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Sources: YourTotalHealth, MedicineNet