New studies proved that introducing fiber-rich foods in the daily diet can help with weight loss.
According to recent findings, people who have added more fiber foods to their normal diet have been able to lose weight, reduce their blood sugar levels and lower the blood pressure.
All these help lower the risk of developing diabetes and improve general health.
Although the people who introduced fiber in their diets did not lose as much weight as those following more complex diets recommended by the American Heart Association, the scientists involved in the study were happy to find that their results could encourage those who get discouraged by complicated more guidelines.
One of the authors of the new study, Dr. Yunsheng Ha, professor of preventive and behavioral medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, explained that increasing the fiber intake could bring many benefits to people who cannot follow complex diets, whether for losing weight or for other health issues.
The new study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and involved 240 adults who had an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The scientists asked the participants to make changes in their diets and followed them for a year.
Out of the 240 participants, half of them had to increase their daily fiber intake to 30gr per day. The researchers recommended them to take their fiber from foods and not from supplement. This meant that the participants had to eat more fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods. Apart from this, the participants were free to eat whatever else they wished.
Professor Ha explained that foods rich in fiber have many vitamins and other nutrients that are beneficial for our health, and are more efficient than fiber supplements.
The other half of participants were asked to American Heart Association’s diet guideline, which are made of 13 components, including eating more fruits and vegetables, reducing the salt and sugar intake, eating lean proteins, reducing the alcohol consumption, and finding a balance between the protein, fats and carbohydrates intake.
At the end of the study, those who followed the strict guidelines lost an average of 6 pounds a year, and those who introduced more fiber lost 4.6 pounds. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/high-fiber-food.jpg” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>freemalaysiatoday