There seems to be a never ending influx of science articles on dietary fiber and its health benefits or the absence of any such outcomes. Still the article published on-line recently merits our close attention. The reason for this is that the study was conducted on an enormous number of people – 567,169 people aged 50-71 were surveyed over a 9 year period. No study anywhere else in the world comes close to these numbers. That is why the outcomes are so significant. They are believable and will remain a benchmark long into the future.
So, what did the study show?
Both men and women were split into 5 groups depending on how much fiber they ingested each day. This ranged from 12.6 grams to 29.4 grams per day for men and 10.8 to 25.8 grams for women. The results showed the following:
- There was a decreased death rate in both men and women which improved from the lowest to the highest fiber intake
- This improved longevity was seen for heart, infectious and respiratory diseases
- There was significant improvement in cancer death for men but not for women
- It was found that the people who had the highest fiber intake and the best survival also had reduced their red meat ingestion
Increasing dietary fiber is simply a matter of life and death. It is that simple. An important part of the fiber story is that fiber is present in 2 types. Insoluble fibers are generally not fermented by colon bacteria while soluble fibers are fermented.
Each of these fibers has health benefits. They are best when both are ingested together. Our Prebiotin product is a pure soluble fiber. Prebiotin-Heart Health and Prebiotin-Regularity/Diverticulosis have generous portions of both types of fiber, each with 11.5 grams per dose. Taken twice a day would provide 23 grams, which is the best point in the above study. Ingesting generous portions of vegetables and fruit would kick this total even higher.
There is now a great deal of information on fiber and the following which will be looked at in subsequent blogs:
- Blood Pressure
- Lipids and Cholesterol
- Glucose and Type 2 diabetes
- Carcinogens in the diet
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/archinternmed.2011.18
