Fiber Contributes to Heart Health

Eating This May Help You Live Longer After a Heart Attack

A recent study led by researchers at Harvard University found that fiber does more than support healthy digestion… It may help you live longer if you’re a heart attack survivor.

Researchers followed over 4,000 subjects for nearly a decade. They found that a higher intake of dietary fiber led to as much as a 25% lower chance of dying for heart attack survivors. And it didn’t just protect them from heart events.

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The study suggests eating higher amounts of fiber helped lower all-cause mortality risk. But it actually gets better.

For every 10 grams of fiber you eat in a day, your risk of dying may drop by as much as 15%. Experts recommend getting 25 grams of fiber per day for women. Men should look to get closer to 40 grams. But less than 5% of Americans are getting this much. Worse yet, the small amount of fiber people may be eating each day could be coming from mostly from grains.

And while whole grains are a source of fiber…they’re not a great source. Eating whole grains causes spikes in your blood sugar and increases inflammation. Plus, artichokes, raspberries, peas, and blackberries all have more fiber than most grains.

If you’re a regular Health Watch reader, you know inflammation is something you want to avoid. It plays a major role in the development of most modern diseases. In other words, don’t put your health at risk by trying to get more fiber from grains.

Getting more fiber in your diet each day is one of the best ways to help support a healthy heart. It may even lower your risk of having a heart attack in the first place by up to 40%. But eating fiber isn’t the only natural solution for keeping your heart out of danger.

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