--- title: Want to Prevent the Deadliest Diseases? Eat More Fiber description: A study documents the many health benefits that come from a diet rich in fiber, including lower risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. canonical: https://time.com/5499365/fiber-lowers-risk-disease/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-10T23:30:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T22:28:14.860Z article:section: Health og:title: Want to Prevent the Deadliest Diseases? Eat More Fiber og:description: According to a new study og:url: https://time.com/5499365/fiber-lowers-risk-disease/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b76710ebe9a6f82/6988b80d2dce01e21a9ec15d/healthy-and-filling-edamame.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3340 og:image:height: 1879 og:image:alt: Time.com stock healthy-and-filling-edamame og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Want to Prevent the Deadliest Diseases? Eat More Fiber twitter:description: According to a new study twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9b76710ebe9a6f82/6988b80d2dce01e21a9ec15d/healthy-and-filling-edamame.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Want to Prevent the Deadliest Diseases? Eat More Fiber > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Are Sweet Potatoes Healthy? Here's What Experts Say [Watch (HLS stream): Are Sweet Potatoes Healthy? Here's What Experts Say](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/KKKsocPK.m3u8) (1:16)  _Published 2019-01-10. Sweet potatoes pack the unique health benefits of regular potatoes with a little something extra_  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2019 11:30 PM UTC  Danny Kim for TIME  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Jan 10, 2019 11:30 PM UTC If you want to eat something for better health, make it [fiber](http://time.com/5424860/best-high-fiber-foods/). That’s the advice from nutrition experts and the [latest national dietary guidelines](http://time.com/4142859/2015-us-dietary-guidelines/). Now, a large new review of studies on fiber, [published in the _Lancet_](http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2818%2931809-9/fulltext), shows just how beneficial fiber can be. The nutrient substantially lowers the risk of at least four diseases—many of which don’t even directly relate to the gut. Compared to those who ate less fiber, people who ate more fiber lowered their risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer, as well as their risk of dying early from any cause, by 15% to 30%. And the more dietary fiber people ate, the lower their risk. For every additional 8 grams of fiber consumed, the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and colon cancer dropped by 5% to 27%. According to the data, people eating 25-29 grams of fiber from foods like fruits and vegetables every day (not from supplements or powders) showed the strongest reductions in risk of the range of diseases, and those eating more tended to show even lower risk. The researchers saw similar benefits among people who ate whole grains. “Our research indicates that people should have at least 25-29 grams of fiber from foods per day,” says Andrew Reynolds, lead author of the study and a researcher at the University of Otago in New Zealand. “Currently, most people consume less than 20 grams of fiber per day, so being more conscious about choosing [high-fiber food](http://time.com/5424860/best-high-fiber-foods/) options will help reach that target.” The results come from a thorough analysis of 243 studies — the kind that prospectively asked people about their diets and followed them for a few years to record health issues, as well as clinical trials, in which people volunteered to be studied and were assigned to change their diet or to be part of a control group. The researchers wanted to tease apart the specific health effects of different types of carbohydrates — sugars and fibers from fruits, vegetables and foods like whole grains — so they included studies in which people documented what they ate and their health outcomes. They also included studies that looked at several different health measures, like body weight, blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and inflammation. While the benefits of eating fiber aren’t a total surprise, the data should help nutrition experts figure out how much fiber people need to eat in order to reap the most benefits. (In fact, the review was requested by the World Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group.) The [latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans](https://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015/guidelines/chapter-2/a-closer-look-at-current-intakes-and-recommended-shifts/#food-groups) recommend that women eat 25 grams of fiber a day while men should consume 38 grams a day. And the [American Heart Association advises](https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/whole-grains-refined-grains-and-dietary-fiber) that adults eat 25 to 30 grams of fiber in their diet daily, which aligns with the latest data. The average American, however, eats only about 15 grams of fiber a day. Previous studies have pointed to possible reasons why fiber has such beneficial effects on everything from heart disease to certain cancers. Fiber-rich foods tend to be heavier and require longer to chew, which increases satiety and possibly lowers the risk of obesity, which has been linked to heart disease and cancer. Fiber also stimulates [beneficial bacteria in the gut](http://time.com/4186162/fiber-gut-bacteria-microbiome/), reducing the risk of colon cancer. To get more fiber in your diet, base meals and snacks around whole grains, vegetables, beans, legumes and whole fruits, Reynolds says. 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