People who eat lots of high-fiber and whole grain foods have lower risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic diseases than people whose diets are low in fiber, a study commissioned by the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
For every 8-gram increase in fiber eaten a day, total deaths and incidences of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer fell by 5 to 27 percent, the study said. Protection against stroke and breast cancer also rose.
A good target for those wanting to reap health gains would be to eat 25 to 29 grams of dietary fiber a day, the analysis found. But the data, published in a series of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in The Lancet medical journal, also suggested higher dietary fiber intakes could give even greater protection.