A review published online Jan 6, 2016 in the Cochrane library suggests that high intake of dietary fiber may potentially reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.
The review based on data from trials conducted prior to Jan 2015 shows that high intake of dietary fiber was associated with lower low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol and total cholesterol and also lower diastolic blood pressure. Both blood pressure and cholesterol are believed to have an effect on the risk of cardiovascular disease
The trials used for the review did not consider mortality from nor events associated with cardiovascular disease. There is some limitation on the significance of the findings. For instance, the risk of bias in the trials remained unknown and the sample sizes were small, and trials did not last longer than 12 weeks.
More rigid trials need to be carried out to confirm that high intake of dietary fiber can actually help prevent cardiovascular disease and lower risk of death from this disease.
Louise Hartley, Michael D May, Emma Loveman, Jill L Colquitt, Karen Rees, Dietary fibre for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, The Cochrane Library, Published online Jan 6, 2016
