Fiber Helps With Weight Loss, Scientists Reveal

According to a new study, adding more fiber-rich foods to one’s diet helps lose weight, as well as bringing many other important health benefits.

The study revealed that people who ate more fiber on a daily basis were able to lose weight, reduce the blood sugar levels and lower the blood pressure.
The fiber-rich foods helped the patients decrease the risks of developing type 2 diabetes and improve their overall health.

Dr. Yunsheng Ma, one of the scientists involved in the study, said that people who find it difficult to follow more complex diet recommendations, increasing their daily fiber intake could be a more simple way of improving their health and also lose a few extra pounds.

Dr. Yunsheng Ma is an associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, in the division of preventive and behavioral medicine.

The new study was funded by the National Institutes of health and involved 240 adults. All the participants were at risk of developing type 2 diabetes at the beginning of the study and the researchers asked them to make changes to their diets for approximately one year.

Half of them had to increase their fiber intake to at least 30gr per day. The condition was that the participants should take their fiber from real food, not from supplements.
This meant that they must consume more vegetables, fruits, whole grain foods and nuts. Other than that, they were allowed to eat whatever they pleased.

The scientists say that foods that are rich in fiber have many vitamins and other important nutrients, and they can provide many health benefits for our bodies.

The other half of participants had to follow strict American Heart Association diet guidelines, which included eating more fruits and vegetables, a lower intake of sugar and salt, lean proteins, less alcohol, and a balance between the intake of protein, carbs and fats.

At the end of the study, the results showed that the participants who had to follow the American Health Association diet guidelines lost about 6 pounds a year. The other participants who only had to increase their daily intake of fiber lost about 4.6 pounds.
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