High Fiber Diet Update

High-fiber diet may reduce risk of dying from chronic diseases, some cancers.
The AP (2/14, Johnson) reported, "Eat more fiber and you just may live longer," according to a study reported online in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The analysis, based on data from "388,000 adults," who participated in a study conducted by NIH and AARP, found that people who met the national dietary guidelines for fiber intake "were less likely to die during a nine-year follow-up period."
The Los Angeles Times (2/14, Stein) "Booster Shots" blog, noted that the 20% who "ate the most fiber (29.4 grams per day for men and 25.8 grams for women) had a 22% lower risk of dying compared with those who ate the least amount (12.6 grams per day for men and 10.8 for women)." Diets high in fiber were linked with a "lower risk of death from all causes, as well as death from cardiovascular disease, infectious diseases and respiratory diseases in men and women." Conversely, eating fiber was "associated with a lower death risk from cancer for men, but the same was not seen in women."
According to the Wall Street Journal (2/15, D3, Dooren, subscription required), lead researcher Dr. Yikyung Park of the National Cancer Institute believes the cancer-risk difference may be attributed to that fact that men already have higher mortality rates for the types of cancer a fiber-rich diet would presumably prevent, including head and neck cancer, and esophagus, liver, bladder and kidney cancers.
US News & World Report (2/14, Haupt, Hobson) reported that Dr. Park suggested that fiber reduces the risk of early death because it "lowers levels of 'bad' LDL cholesterol, improves blood glucose levels, reduces inflammation, and binds to potential cancer-causing agents, helping to flush them out of the body." The Boston Globe (2/15, Kotz) "Daily Dose" blog added that antioxidants found in fiber, such as selenium and zinc, "may protect tissues from oxidative damage," which is common in diseases such as "cardiovascular disease, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis," and Crohn's disease, according to an accompanying editorial by two researchers form Harvard School of Public Health.
Meanwhile, MedPage Today (2/14, Phend) noted that the study authors cautioned that although the "benefit for lowered respiratory and infectious disease mortality was 'interesting,' it requires further confirmation." Moreover, the research group "warned that they could not rule out the possibility that dietary fiber was simply a marker for a healthier diet or healthier lifestyle, which may have been incompletely controlled for in the study." CNN /Health.com (2/15, McMillen), WebMD (2/14, Mann) and HealthDay (2/14, Reinberg) also covered the dietary fiber study.