Consuming just 30 grams of naturally-occurring dietary fibre daily may prevent you from of developing non-communicable diseases, revealed a latest study. A diet enriched with high-fibre foods such as whole grains, pulses, vegetables and fruits may increase longevity of your life, by keeping risk of non-communicable diseases at bay, said the study published in the journal The Lancet.
The study offers another reason why you may consider upping your fibre intake daily. High-fibre intake is also associated with lower body weight and cholesterol, compared with lower intake of synthetic and extracted fibre.
The findings suggested a 15-30 per cent decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality; and reduced incidence of coronary heart disease, stroke, Type-2 diabetes and colorectal cancer by 16-24 per cent. "Our findings provide convincing evidence for nutrition guidelines to focus on increasing dietary fibre and on replacing refined grains with whole grains. This reduces incidence risk and mortality from a broad range of important diseases," said Professor Jim Mann, from the University of Otago, New Zealand.
High Fibre Diet is also associated with lower body weight and cholesterol,
"Fibre-rich whole foods that require chewing and retain much of their structure in the gut increase satiety and help weight control and can favourably influence lipid and glucose levels.
"The breakdown of fibre in the large bowel by the resident bacteria has additional wide-ranging effects including protection from colorectal cancer," Mann said.
The data suggested that consuming 25-29 grams each day was adequate but higher intakes of dietary fibre could provide even greater protection. For the study, the team analysed 185 observational studies and 58 clinical trials involving 4,635 adult participants.
The study also revealed that diets with a low glycaemic index and low glycaemic load happened to offer limited support for protection against Type-2 diabetes and stroke only. Fitness enthusiasts and health conscious people must note that foods with a low glycaemic index or low glycaemic load may also contain added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.
However, high intakes might have ill-effects for people with low iron or mineral levels for whom high levels of whole grains can further reduce iron levels, the researchers noted.
(With inputs IANS)