Lower risks of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes by having more fibres in your diet

A recent study suggests that to reduce the risk of several chronic diseases and mortality, higher consumption of dietary fibres (DF), particularly soluble (SF) and insoluble fibres (IF) from fruits.

The researchers sought to examine the association of intake of DFs of different types (total DF, SF and IF) and from various sources with the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVDs), cancer, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and mortality in the large-scale NutriNet-Santé prospective cohort.

107,377 participants were included in the cohort study where the usual DF intake was estimated from validated repeated 24-h dietary records over the first 2 years following inclusion in the cohort. To assess the associations between sex-specific quintiles of DF intake and the risk of chronic diseases and mortality.

With the increased intake of total DFs, it was found that T2D risk is being significantly decreased and also correlated with a lower risk of breast cancer. It is also stated that intake from fruits led to a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. . For particularly soluble (SFs), they are correlated with a reduced risk of CVD and colorectal cancer, while IFs reduce mortality from cancer or CVDs.

The investigators stated that to involve different types and sources of fibre, further studies are needed and more emphasis should be put on dietary fibres in public health nutrition policies, as DF intake remains below the recommended levels in many countries.