High Fibre Diet May Help With Heart Attack Recovery

High fibre diets will help heart attack patients to recover better in the long term, according to American researchers.
A study carried out at the Harvard School of Public Health and published in the British Medical Journal found that heart attack victims were more likely to live nine years after the incident if they had a diet that was high in fibre. Apparently an increase of 10g of fibre per day equated to about a 15% drop in mortality rate for participants in the study.
On average, the UK population is 4g short of the 18g per day recommended goal. Having a low fibre diet is associated with stomach problems and gut disease, and, infamously, constipation. Now heart health has been added to that list.
The study looked at 4,000 men and women who survived a first heart attack, and they were given questionnaires so as to provide information about their usual diet. Over the next nine years, 682 women and 451 men died.
A correlation showing a 25% lower chance of dying was formed between an increased chance of surviving and a higher amount of fibre in the participant’s diet.
High fibre foods include potato, whole grain and whole meal bread, bananas, apples, and vegetables, particularly root vegetables.
Dietary links like this are incredibly hard to prove, but more fibre is healthier for you no matter what, so including as much as possible is a good idea, whether you have had a heart attack or not.