Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. Researchers found a significant decrease in cardiovascular death with increasing fiber intake.
In a 2014 study (1), 7,216 men and women between the ages of 55 and 75 participated in the PREDIMED trial in Spain (2). Researchers followed those at high risk for cardiovascular disease for an average of 5.9 years (longest follow-up 8.7 years). All participants were initially free of cardiovascular disease but had either type 2 diabetes or met at least 3 of the following criteria for CVD risk factors: current smoking, high blood pressure or taking a high blood pressure medication, high LDL cholesterol, low HDL cholesterol, being overweight or obese, and a family history of premature cardiovascular disease.
Each subject completed a 137-item validated food-frequency questionnaire (3, 4) administered by dietitians and repeated every year, with physical exams also being conducted on a yearly basis to measure overall health.
The researchers noted a significant decrease in cardiovascular death with increasing fiber intake. Specifically, those with the highest fiber intake had a 41% reduced risk of death compared to those with the lowest intake (>35 vs <17 grams of fiber per day, p = 0.007). When they looked at specific food intake, those consuming at least 210 grams per day of fruit had a 41% reduced risk of death (p = 0.004). No statistically significant effects on mortality were seen with vegetable consumption (p = 0.092) or whole-grain consumption (p = 0.651).
When suggesting how fruit and fiber intake produce these healthful benefits, the researchers suggested “fruit and vegetables contain a wide array of nutrients and phytochemicals that may act together to produce a benefit…and may confer cardioprotective, anti-carcinogenic, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties”.
While the researchers concluded that “Fiber and fruit intakes are associated with a reduction in total mortality”, these results need to be taken with caution as the study was done on a homogenous population of residents in Spain so these results may not translate to Americans.
Source: Buil-Cosiales, Pilar, Itziar Zazpe, Estefanía Toledo, Dolores Corella, Jordi Salas-Salvado, Javier Diez-Espino, Emilio Ros et al. “Fiber intake and all-cause mortality in the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) study–.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 100, no. 6 (2014): 1498-1507.
© 2014 American Society for Nutrition
References:
- Martinez-Gonzales MA. Fiber intake and all-cause mortality in the Prevencio´ n con Dieta Mediterra´ nea (PREDIMED) study. Am J Clin Nutr 2014 May 28;100(Supplement 1):320S-328S. [Epub ahead of print]
- Martı´nez-Gonza´lez MA´ , Corella D, Salas-Salvado´ J, Ros E, Covas MI, Fiol M, Wa¨rnberg J, Aro´s F, Ruı´z-Gutie´rrez V, Lamuela-Ravento´s RM, et al. Cohort profile: design and methods of the PREDIMED study. Int J Epidemiol 2012;41:377–85.
- Ferna´ndez-Ballart JD, Pi~nol JL, Zazpe I, Corella D, Carrasco P, Toledo E, Perez-Bauer M, Martı´nez-Gonza´lez MA, Salas-Salvado´ J, Martı´n-Moreno JM. Relative validity of a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire in an elderly Mediterranean population of Spain. Br J Nutr 2010;103:1808–16
- de la Fuente-Arrillaga C, Va´zquez Ruiz Z, Bes-Rastrollo M, Sampson L, Martinez-Gonza´lez MA. Reproducibility of an FFQ validated in Spain. Public Health Nutr 2010;13:1364–72
