A recent study, the third of its kind, has revealed that most people in the world eat too little fibre, which is proven to cut the risk of cancer, heart disease and strokes by up to 30 percent. The nutritional review in question includes 58 clinical trials and 185 studies, which have been run over almost 40 years. The research shows that should we eat 25-29 grams of fibre every day, this is actually good for us.

Each study included 1,000 participants and showed eating more high-fibre foods led to 13 fewer deaths and six fewer cases of coronary heart disease.

As reported by the BBC, the World Health Organisation commissioned the nutritional review, which was run by researchers at the University of Otago and has been published in The Lancet.

Study shows benefits of high-fibre food

The study shows that most people worldwide eat less than 20 grams of fibre each day, while guidelines set in 2015 in the UK recommend that we should eat at least 30 grams per day. Despite the recommendation, only nine percent of adults in the UK eat enough fibre. Even worse, the average adult in the US consumes only 15 grams of fibre per day.

The only risk researchers uncovered from eating a large amount of whole grain, high-fibre foods was a chance of ill effects to consumers with low mineral or iron levels.

The authors of the review also stressed that these results mainly relate to natural, fibre rich foods and not the powdered, synthetic fibre which can be added to food.

Research showed that with every eight-gram increase in the consumption of fibre, the total deaths from type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and colorectal cancer fell by between five to 27 percent.

Professor Nita Forouhi of the MRC Epidemiology Unit at Cambridge University said their research endorses UK governmental advice to eat 35 grams of fibre each day.

Forouhi stressed that it is up to the individual to make this happen, but it should also be recommended by public agencies, to ensure this happens in future, as at present intakes of fibre are “woefully low” in the UK.

People on low carbohydrate diets could be missing out

As reported by The Guardian, Forouhi also said their research didn’t study people’s total carbohydrate intakes. However, their findings imply that while low-carb diets are popular with people wishing to lose weight, this risks the health benefits from eating whole grain fibre. She concluded by saying their studies confirm that whole grain and figure intakes are definitely important when it comes to longer-term health.