A diet rich in fiber protected the body of obesity, diabetes, improves transit, reduces the risk of colorectal cancer and intestinal diseases, and brings benefits to the cardiovascular system. That said, American researchers have looked at the consequences of a fiber-based diet in people who have suffered a myocardial infarction.
The results, published by the journal British Medical Journal, are encouraging: consuming fiber would reduce the risk of death by 25%. Scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center analyzed data from two studies on the health of nurses and health care workers with heart attacks.
Changing lifestyle habits
A total of 2,258 women and 1,840 men were followed for 22 years. The researchers used food frequency questionnaires to observe the amount of fiber that had been consumed before and after the infarction, while taking into account external factors such as drugs and the lifestyle of patients.
The conclusions of the analysis leave no doubt: “In this prospective study of patients who survived myocardial infarction, higher consumption of dietary fiber after the accident, in particular grain fiber, was directly associated to a decrease in mortality “, conclude the researchers. The next studies “should focus on a combination of modifications in the life habits and how they could further reduce mortality, beyond what is possible with drugs alone, ”they add.