Eating foods that are rich in fiber may not only prevent certain diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer but may also reduce the risk of acquiring a lung disease, according to a recent research.
Science Daily reported the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. These include adults in the top quartile of fiber intake that had 68.3 percent normal lung function. They also had a more lung capacity (FVC) and could breathe well in one second (FEV1) than those adults in the lowest quartile with 50.1 percent normal lung function.
The researchers calculated the fiber consumption of the participants. The calculation is based on the amounts of intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes. The results show that the 571 participants who had more than 17.5 grams of fiber in a day were considered the top quartile while 360 participants who had 10.75 grams of fiber a day were in the lower quartile.
"Lung disease is an important public health problem, so it's important to identify modifiable risk factors for prevention," Corrine Hanson, Ph.D., RD, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of medical nutrition at the University of Nebraska Medical center said.
"However, beyond smoking very few preventative strategies have been identified. Increasing fiber intake may be a practical and effective way for people to have an impact on their risk of lung disease," Hanson added.
According to Health.com, to increase your fiber intake, you must eat foods with fiber from whole foods particularly not foods that have "added fiber." Among the list of rich fiber foods are corn and beans like white beans, black beans, kidney beans and garbanzo beans.
Fruits and vegetables that are rich in fiber are avocados, raspberries, peas, apples, broccoli, peas, artichoke and edamame. Other foods that contain whopping fiber are whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, whole-wheat bread, almonds and barley. The prescribed intake of fiber for women must be at least 25 grams a day and 35 to 40 grams a day for men.
