Fiber protects against cardiovascular disease

The new study, which was recently published in the scientific journal PLoS One, involved the study of the eating habits of over 20,000 residents of the Swedish city of Malmo, with a focus on the risk of cardiovascular disease. The importance of 13 different nutrient variables (aspects of fiber, fats, proteins and carbohydrates) was analyzed. "Women who ate a diet high in fiber had an almost 25 per cent lower risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease compared with women who ate a low-fiber diet. In men the effect was less pronounced. However, the results confirmed that a high-fiber diet does at least protect men from stroke," said Peter Wallstrom, a researcher at Lund University and the primary author of the article. The exact reason for the difference between the sexes is unclear. However, a probable explanation is that women consume fiber from healthier food sources than men do. Women ate a lot of fiber in the form of fruit and vegetables, whereas the most important source of fiber for men was bread. "The difference in the results for men and women shows that we need to pay more attention to gender when we conduct research on diet," said Peter Wallstrom. However, the researchers did not identify any definite links between the other nutrients in the study and cardiovascular disease, for example the proportion of saturated fat or sugar in the diet. "These results should be interpreted with a certain amount of caution. Almost everyone eats more saturated fat than recommended, including the participants in many other population studies. It is therefore difficult to compare recommended and high fat intake. Other types of study that have been carried out have shown that those who limit their fat and sugar intake are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease," said Peter Wallstrom. Peter Wallstrom is skeptical of 'extreme' diets and says that the dietary recommendations from the National Food Administration are good, despite having received criticism: "The National Food Administration's dietary advice, which is based on extensive research, is well balanced. In the short term, most weight-loss diets achieve their aim as long as you follow them. However, we know too little about the long-term effects to be able to recommend more drastic changes to one's diet," said Peter Wallstrom.