It's Official: Eat (Or Just Swallow) Your Fiber!

Filed in archive Research on May 8, 2006

Yet another study has been published proclaiming the benefits of fiber for Type 2 diabetics. It's hardly novel news, but it is important news, and the variety that many people ignore all too often. Perhaps the connection between fiber and diabetes is not immediately apparent, but our bodies are wondrous machines where everything is somehow connected, where a behavior can cause numerous reactions all at once.

The connection is rather simple: fiber lowers 'bad' cholesterol and raises 'good' cholesterol in diabetics, which significantly reduces heart disease, the number one cause of death for diabetics. A diet with moderate to high fiber intake also results in weight loss, which is almost always beneficial.

If you're not a fan of roughage, you can substitute fiber supplements.

Participants in the study -- 78 people with type 2 diabetes, who averaged 59 years of age -- took 10 grams to 15 grams daily of a fiber supplement. Their total blood cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and HDL were measured at the start of the study and again after 90 days.

By the end of the study, total cholesterol had fallen from 215 mg/dL to 184 mg/dL, a 14.4 percent decrease. Triglycerides decreased from 299 mg/dL to 257 mg/dL (14 percent). LDL decreased from 129 mg/dL to 92 mg/dL (28.7 percent). HDL increased from 43 mg/dL to 55 mg/dL, up 21.8 percent.

Many people rely on cholesterol-reducing drugs, but those drugs usually only lower the bad cholesterol without raising the good variety, and therefore lack fiber's one-two punch.

(Image Source: Copley News)