Dietary Fiber and Heart Attack

Heart attack survivors take heed: new research suggests that embarking on a high fiber diet will up your chances for living longer.

The finding published in the journal BMJ is based on the experiences of nearly 4100 heart attack patients. All were between 30 and 75 when they started completing lifestyle questionnaires. During the 9 years following a first heart attack more than 1,100 died.

But in that time, those who ate the most fiber faced a 25% lower risk for dying as compared with the lowest fiber consumers. And when looking specifically at fatalities due to cardiovascular disease the highest fiber consumers saw their death risk drop by 13%… regardless of age or other dietary habits. What’s more the benefit rose as fiber intake rose with every 10-gram bump in daily fiber translating into a 15% lower death risk.

However the investigators concluded that not all fibers are equally beneficial with cereal fiber trumping fruit and vegetable fiber in this research.

I’m Dr. Cindy Haines of HealthDay TV with health information for healthier living.