With the push for fiber-rich foods, industry is trying to bridge the gap between the recommended daily value and consumers’ actual consumption rates. Why? Because fiber has an abundance of health benefits. What’s more is today’s fiber ingredients are extremely versatile and suitable for almost any food application.
A new study published in Diabetologia evaluated the association between intake of dietary fiber and type 2 diabetes in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct study and in a meta-analysis of prospective studies (May 29, 2015).
During 10.8 years of follow-up, 11,559 participants with type 2 diabetes were identified and a sub-cohort of 15,258 participants was selected for the case-cohort study.
In the EPIC-InterAct Study, dietary fiber intake was associated with a lower risk of diabetes after adjustment for lifestyle and dietary factors. Similar inverse associations were observed for the intake of cereal fiber and vegetable fiber, but not fruit fiber. The associations were attenuated and no longer statistically significant after adjustment for BMI. In the meta-analysis (19 cohorts), the summary relative risks per 10 g/d increase in intake were 0.91 for total fiber, 0.75 for cereal fiber, 0.95 for fruit fiber and 0.93 for vegetable fiber.
The overall evidence indicates the intake of total and cereal fiber is inversely related to the risk of type 2 diabetes; the results suggest the association may be partially explained by body weight.