Increasing fiber intake can lower risk of first time stroke, says a new study.
Dietary fiber, the kind that you get from fruits and vegetables, add no nutrition to your diet. However, fiber adds bulk in the food, making its passage easy. A diet high in fiber also helps you keep your weight under check by making you feel full faster and longer, according to Medline Plus. Fiber should be added slowly to diet as higher amounts of fiber can lead to gas and cramps.
For the study, researchers looked at data from eight studies conducted between 1990 and 2012. The study results showed that seven-gram increase in total daily fiber intake co-related with a 7 percent decrease in first-time stroke risk.
According to researchers, a serving of whole wheat pasta along with two serving of fruits and vegetables provides the required seven gram of fiber.
Experts recommend a dietary fiber intake of 14 grams (0.4 oz) per 1000 kcal for adults or 25 grams (0.8 oz) for adult women and 38 grams (1.3 oz) for adult men. Fiber has recently been found to be good for the heart as well.
"Greater intake of fiber-rich foods - such as whole-grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts - are important for everyone, and especially for those with stroke risk factors like being overweight, smoking and having high blood pressure," said Diane Threapleton, from the University of Leeds' School of Food Science & Nutrition in Leeds, United Kingdom, lead author of the study, in a press release.
There are about 795,000 people in the U.S. who have a stroke in a given year and a whopping 610,000 are first-time strokes. The condition is not only the leading cause of death in the country, but also one of the leading causes of disability in older American citizens, according to data from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Most people do not get the recommended level of fiber, and increasing fiber may contribute to lower risk for strokes. We must educate consumers on the continued importance of increasing fiber intake and help them learn how to increase fiber in their diet," Threapleton said.
The study is published in the journal Stroke.