Eat High Fiber For A Longer Life
An easy way to improve your longevity was recently in the news. All anyone need do is eat a healthy high fiber diet. This type of a healthy diet was shown once again to reduce your risk of dying from all causes; even from infectious and respiratory diseases, like influenza.
This latest study was actually a study of previous research, called the National Institutes of Health (NIH) / American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Diet and Health Study. In other words, these researchers took a fresh look at the massive amounts of data collected by the previous NIH/AARP study by using a different set of statistical filters. These types of statistical studies are often done in health research because keeping track of several hundred thousand individuals over many years is both extremely expensive and time consuming. Analysis of data collected during the famous seven countries cohort study, for example, went on for several decades after the original study was first published.
Healthy Food Choices for a High Fiber Diet
The latest cohort study looked at 567,000 men and women, aged between 50 and 71 years, residing in six states over an average of 9 years. These people ate a diet that consisted of between 11 to 29 grams of fiber per day. While this may seem like a lot of fiber to you, those advocating eating an all raw food diet often consume as much as 100 grams of fiber a day. In addition, the American Food Pyramid diet recommends the consumption of 25 grams of fiber.
Those who consumed the most fiber per day when compared to those who ate the least amount had a 22 percent lower risk of dying from all causes of death, barring accidents and homicide. The most effective food source of healthy fiber was found to be whole grains, followed by vegetables. Consumption of fiber from fruits was found to offer absolutely no longevity benefits. This study can be added to a very long list of research studies that supports the health benefits of eating whole-grains, as part of a healthy diet.
References:
- Dietary Fiber Intake and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study.
Park Y, Subar AF, Hollenbeck A, Schatzkin A.
Arch Intern Med. 2011 Feb 14. [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 21321288
