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Abstract
We tested the effects of feeding a diet very high in fiber from fruit and vegetables.
The levels fed were those, which had originally inspired the dietary fiber hypothesis
related to colon cancer and heart disease prevention and also may have been eaten
early in human evolution. Ten healthy volunteers each took 3 metabolic diets of 2
weeks duration. The diets were: high-vegetable, fruit, and nut (very-high-fiber, 55
g/1,000 kcal); starch-based containing cereals and legumes (early agricultural diet);
or low-fat (contemporary therapeutic diet). All diets were intended to be weight-maintaining
(mean intake, 2,577 kcal/d). Compared with the starch-based and low-fat diets, the
high-fiber vegetable diet resulted in the largest reduction in low-density lipoprotein
(LDL) cholesterol (33% ± 4%, P < .001) and the greatest fecal bile acid output (1.13 ± 0.30 g/d, P = .002), fecal bulk (906 ± 130 g/d, P < .001), and fecal short-chain fatty acid outputs (78 ± 13 mmol/d, P < .001). Nevertheless, due to the increase in fecal bulk, the actual concentrations
of fecal bile acids were lowest on the vegetable diet (1.2 mg/g wet weight, P = .002). Maximum lipid reductions occurred within 1 week. Urinary mevalonic acid
excretion increased (P = .036) on the high-vegetable diet reflecting large fecal steroid losses. We conclude
that very high-vegetable fiber intakes reduce risk factors for cardiovascular disease
and possibly colon cancer. Vegetable and fruit fibers therefore warrant further detailed
investigation.
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Footnotes
☆Supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and Loblaw Brands Ltd. D.J.A.J. is a Canada Research Chair in Metabolism and Nutrition.
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Copyright
© 2001 Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
