London - A bowl of breakfast cereal every day increases heart attack survivors’ chance of living longer, claim researchers.
They found an increase in dietary fibre – especially cereals – was linked with lower death rates.
Those who ate the most fibre had a 25 percent lower chance of dying in the nine years after their heart attack compared with those who ate the least, according to a study.
Every 10g per day increase in fibre intake was associated with a 15 percent reduced risk of dying over a nine-year follow-up period. US researchers behind the study, published on bmj.com, say that as more people survive heart attacks, it is important to find out what lifestyle changes they can make to cut the risk of dying.
The research team, based in Boston, analysed data from two big US studies, the Nurses’ Health Study of 121 700 female nurses and the Health Professional Follow-up Study of 51 529 male health professionals. The y looked at 2 258 women and 1 840 men who survived a first heart attack during the course of the studies.
They were followed for an average of almost nine years afterwards, during which time 682 of the women and 451 of the men died.
The top quintile – the one in five who ate most fibre – had a 25 percent lower chance of dying from any cause during the nine years after their heart attack compared with the bottom quintile.
Of the three different fibre types – cereal, fruit and vegetable – only higher cereal fibre intake was strongly linked with an increased chance of long-term survival after a heart attack. Breakfast cereal was the main source of dietary fibre for the participants.
Findings were adjusted for factors that could affect lifespan, including age, medical history and other dietary and lifestyle habits.
It has been previously found that people who have a high intake of dietary fibre are less likely to develop coronary heart disease
Fibre’s benefits include reducing blood cholesterol, improving blood glucose levels and lowering blood pressure. - Daily Mail