People who ate the most fibre are less likely to die from any cause, during a recent study in the Journal of Epidemiology, and produced by Professor Yang Yang and colleagues of the Shanghai Cancer Institute in China. They pooled data from 17 previous studies involving Western populations and over 1 million people.
They went on to conclude that "Individuals should be encouraged to increase their dietary fiber intake to potentially decrease the risk of premature death"
Undoubtedly, fibre helps bacteria colonies to flourish in the gut, and a healthy microbiome is linked to a healthy person.
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Fibre consumption has been linked, for example, to bacterial production of sodium butyrate in the colon and this combats local inflammation. A low fat, high fibre diet reduced colorectal risk by 35% (Sansbury et al, Am J Epidmiol. 2009; 170; 576-584)
Fibre consumption has also been linked to a reduction of breast cancer risk - especially whole grains. It is never too early to start. Increased fibre intake amongst younger premenopausal women, reduced breast cancer rates later in life.
But gut bacteria thrive on fibre and they get ill first, so you really need to look after them. All this is covered in our new book "The Secret Source of Your Good Health", an easy-to-read guide to gut health.
Reference: bit.ly/1zRqnHa American Journal of Epidemiology, online December 31, 2014.