Increase Your Fiber Intake to Lose Weight
Increase Your Fiber Intake to Lose Weight, say researchers.
A new study was conducted by Dr. Yunsheng Ma, an associate professor in the division of preventive and behavioral medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. For the study, Dr. Ma and his team asked 240 adults at risk for type 2 diabetes, to change their diets for one year. Half the participants were asked to increase their fiber intake by at least 30 grams per day. They were asked to get their fiber from foods like fruits, vegetables and whole grains and not from supplements. There were no other restrictions.
The other participants were asked to follow the dieatary guidelines of the American Heart Association, a complex plan that included 13 componenets, such as eating more fruits and veggies, reducing salt and sugar, and balancing intake of protein, carbohydrates and fat. Researchers hypothesized that the high-fiber would be more successful than the AHA diet as it’s simpler to follow.
At the end of the study period, researchers found that only 12 participants from the high-fiber group dropped out of the study, as opposed to 15 from the AHA diet group. The average weight-loss was greater in the AHA group, with 6 pounds, and only 4.6 for the other group. But both the diets were effective in reducing the blood sugar and blood pressure of the participants.
However, of the 8 participants who developed type 2 diabetes, 7 were from the high-fiber group, and only 1 from AHA. But when the overall results are considered, Ma says that if you could do only one thing to lose weight, the most effective thing to do would be to increase your fiber intake, as this one step can crowd out the other unhealthier food options from your diet.
Category: News
