Megan Rauscher, "High-fiber diet may slow atherosclerosis", Reuters,
September 1, 2005,
Link:
http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2005-09
-01T163430Z_01_KWA159680_RTRIDST_0_HEALTH-DIET-FIBRE-DC.XML

Researchers from Finland and the United States report evidence that
diets high in cereal fiber and whole-grain products may slow the
progression of atherosclerosis, plaque build-up in the arteries, of
postmenopausal women.

Several studies have linked increased dietary fiber, especially cereal
fiber, with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and death, but
most of them have been conducted in patients without coronary artery
disease and have not directly assessed the effect of fiber intake on
the progression of plaque build-up in the arteries of patients with
established heart disease.

Dr. Alice H. Lichtenstein from Tufts University in Boston and
colleagues looked at the effects of whole grain consumption in 229
postmenopausal women with coronary blockages of at least 30 percent who
were participating in the Estrogen Replacement and Atherosclerosis
Trial. As part of study, a diet questionnaire was used to estimate
fiber intake.

Women consuming more than 3 grams of cereal fiber or more than 6
servings of whole grains per week over a 3-year period showed modestly
smaller declines in coronary artery blockage compared with women with
lower intakes of fiber per week, the group reports in the American
Heart Journal.

However, the differences in disease progression were almost that same
as that seen in patients treated with cholesterol-lowering statin
drugs, the investigators point out.

Lichtenstein told Reuters Health: "There are now good data that women
with heart disease who reported consuming products made with whole
grains have slower rates of progression of their disease. This
conclusion is based on direct measures of (plaque) progression over a
three-year period."

"It is likely," Lichtenstein added, "the benefits of diets rich in
whole grains are applicable to a more general population."

SOURCE: American Heart Journal, July 2005.