Dietary Fiber Intake Is Linked To Successful Aging

Research now reveals that dietary fiber intake is linked to successful aging.
A new paper -- published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences by scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research -- reports that eating the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals, and fruits can help us avoid disease and disability into old age.
They discovered that out of all the factors they examined -- which included a person's complete carbohydrate intake, total fiber intake, glycemic index, glycemic load, and sugar intake -- it was the fiber that made the largest difference to what the researchers termed "successful aging.”
Successful aging was defined as living with absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke.
Comments

As with most "dietary studies" this is a simplistic analysis. It points in the right direction but falls quite short of coming to any conclusion as to WHY fiber intake is the most important of the factors examined. Dietary fiber is highly rated not because of the fiber alone, but because it is found in great abundance in whole foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. A great deal of research shows that grain products, included in this fiber category, can be detrimental to health. If they say "the right amount" from breads & cereals, this falls incredibly short of eating healthy long term and ignores a body of evidence that grains in general are not good nutrition, particularly in the highly refined form we most often see them in. Do I eat grains? Very occasionally. Do I do better without them altogether? You bet. It's not a matter of taste or liking foods. I was raised on and like the taste of almost every grain product (in natural form), but experience has demonstrated over 50 yrs. of dietary experimentation that I do a lot better without them.

Telling us to eat our fruit and vegetables is old news. I hear more about what not to eat. Fat, sugar, salt, processed foods, etc. Oh yes.. Don't forget moderation. It's all retelling old established recommendations.
Great blog article.
Perhaps US could save huge amounts of medical expenses if they gave away
free fiber foods.
Even a repub can understand cost benefit analysis.
ct

As a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, I have followed the "fiber" recommendation throughout my career. Fiber is found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, and acts as an intestinal broom" to "move stuff along". Also, it contributes to satiety. Eating a salad with a meal can prevent overeating more Calorific food, and can certainly make a 3-4 ounce portion of meat, chicken or fish more doable. I personally like stir-fry which uses lots of vegetables, small amouts of protein, is quick and easy to prepare (I like an electric wok) and follows current recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. Those with issues with gluten found in barley, oats, rye and wheat can opt for gluten free products based on rice or potato flour. Gluten-free has become popular, but there is a test, called a "celiac panel" that your doctor can perform that will show if you are truly allergic to gluten. This is called celiac disease and can cause major harm to the intestinal lining. Elimination of gluten is the cure, Miraculous! Many people have been misdiagnosed with IBS, Crohn's, etc. who, indeed, when tested, had celiac disease.
Trump needs more fiber in his diet.

"Grandma called it "roughage""
Election fraud: "It's not just for [Republicans] anymore"
"You deserve a break today"

Important but also not eating bad fats and carbs and all added sugar.

Thom, I have to say that this pseudo-study is just more of the same corporate propaganda we have been hearing for the last 100 years! Grains like wheat, oats and barley may contain fiber, but they also contain gluten, which degrades the function of almost everyone's digestive tract—like paint that seals the seals the intestinal cilia.
And when baked into American breads, the advertising mislead us into believing this concoction is healthy. Shamefully, however, the neurotoxin bromine is added in US breads but banned in most civilized countries. A toxic soup of flavor chemicals is also added, along with petrochemical vitamin substitutes (as required by the government) to keep us from dying right away from eating it. Countless pounds of sugar is hidden under creative pseudonyms. And, of course, there is plenty of extra gluten is also added to make bread easier to mass produce.
And to top it all off, the only nutrition that can be extracted from this toxic ball of dough and flavor chemicals comes from carbohydrates and unsaturated fats derived from GMOs. Carbs change into sugar very quickly, which is why the study carefully monitored glucose spikes, which causes type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and a variety of neurological conditions when carbs replace healthy, saturated fats.
Unsaturated fats, as we should all know by now, also cause type 2 diabetes, heart disease and a variety of neurological diseases. These adulterated fats taken with grain glutens and carbohydrates are a delicious recipe for death. Eating raw lard is healthier than soybean oil!
Certainly, healthy plant fiber is the “broom that sweeps the gut clean,” but bread is the paint brush that seals the cilia, blocks absorption of nutrients, causes widespread inflammation and amounts to nothing but slow poison!
There is NO fiber in animal products, so, yay, this is advocating a VEGAN diet!