Effects of dietary fiber intake on cardiovascular risk factors

A healthy dietary pattern is characterized by a high consumption of non-refined grains, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables; relatively high intake of total fat, mainly derived from olive oil; moderate to high intake of fish and poultry; dairy products (usually as yogurt or cheese) in small amounts; low consumption of red meat and meat products; and moderate alcohol intake, usually in the form of red wine with meals (Willett et al., 1995). Therefore, a high consumption of fiber-rich foods is one of the characteristic features of a healthy diet. Dietary fiber (DF) has received much attention in nutritional epidemiology. Observational studies have consistently shown that DF intake is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk, including ischemic heart disease (Rimm et al., 1996a; Todd et al., 1999; Liu et al., 2002; Mozaffarian et al., 2003a) and stroke (Ascherio et al., 1998; Oh et al., 2005; Salmeron et al., 1997)), and a lower risk of diabetes (Meyer et al., 2000; Liu, 2003b). Clinical trials have also suggested that DF supplementation has beneficial effects on risk factors, such as blood pressure, serum lipids, insulin sensitivity and diabetic metabolic control (Streppel et al., 2005b; Brown et al., 1999; Anderson et al., 2000; Chandalia et al., 2000a; Ludwig et al., 1999)