Is eating lots of fiber key to a long, healthy life? Diet 'lowers risk of depression, dementia, cancer, heart disease and stroke'

• High-fiber diet found to make biggest difference to 'successful aging'
• That was defined as not suffering disability, depression, dementia, respiratory problems, cancer, heart disease or stroke
• People who ate the most fiber 80% more likely to be alive a decade later 

Eating a diet rich in fiber could help you live a long and healthy life, new evidence suggests.

Including the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals and fruits can help avoid disease and disability into old age, scientists were surprised to discover. 

The impact is so significant, they found those people who ate the most fiber were 80 per cent more likely to be alive at a 10-year follow up. 

Researchers found that of all the factors they examined, which included a person's total carbohydrate intake, total fiber intake, glycemic index, glycemic load and sugar intake, it was the fiber that made the biggest difference to what the researchers termed 'successful aging'. 

Successful aging was defined as including an absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke. 

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Including the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals and fruits can help avoid disease and disability into old age, scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia were surprised to discover

Dr Bamini Gopinath, from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia, who led the study, said: 'Out of all the variables that we looked at, fiber intake - which is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest - had the strongest influence.

'Essentially, we found that those who had the highest intake of fiber or total fiber actually had an almost 80 per cent greater likelihood of living a long and healthy life over a 10-year follow-up.

'That is, they were less likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes, dementia, depression and functional disability.' 

Researchers used data compiled from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a benchmark population-based study that examined a cohort of more than 1,600 adults aged 50 years and older for long-term sensory loss risk factors and systemic diseases.

They used the data to explore the relationship between carbohydrate nutrition and healthy aging.

Dr Gopinath noted this was the first such study to look at such a relationship, and the results were significant enough to warrant further investigation.

While it might have been expected that the level of sugar intake would make the biggest impact on successful aging, Dr Gopinath pointed out that the particular group they examined were older adults whose intake of carbonated and sugary drinks was quite low.

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Scientists found that those who had the highest intake of fiber or total fiber actually had an almost 80 per cent greater likelihood of living a long and healthy life over a 10-year follow-up, because they were less likely to suffer disability, depression, dementia, cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke

Although it is too early to use the study results as a basis for dietary advice, Dr Gopinath said the research has opened up a new avenue for exploration.

She said: 'There are a lot of other large cohort studies that could pursue this further and see if they can find similar associations. 

'And it would also be interesting to tease out the mechanisms that are actually linking these variables.'

This study backs up similar recent findings by the researchers, which highlight the importance of the overall diet and healthy aging.

In another study published last year in The Journals of Gerontology, Westmead Institute researchers found that, in general, adults who closely adhered to recommended national dietary guidelines reached old age with an absence of chronic diseases and disability, and had good functional and mental health status.

The findings are published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences