Does Fiber turn on Good Genes—YES, probably

and you can get collagen equivalent with the fiber--

Does Fiber turn on Good Genes—YES, probably, and you can get collagen equivalent with the fiber--

Let’s start with a quiz question What percent of of Americans get their recommended daily fiber intake?

a. 5%

b. 20%

c. 35%

d. 50%

e. 65%

f. 80%

g. 95%

Answer at the bottom:

A recent study demonstrated that a low fiber and high red meat diet are more likely to have heart attack risk as they have increased coronary plaques. It’s important to note that hypertension, waist circumference, and triglyceride levels also showed high indication of coronary plaques (DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvaf088). But daily high fiber intake is associated with much less artery clogging plaque in that study.

Fiber also does an excellent job at increasing the volume of food you consume without as many calories as almost any other food choices. This is why vegetables are typically recommended, when trying to lose weight. In addition, fiber has the added benefit of substantially reducing all-cause mortality, strokes, heart attacks, kidney dysfunction, cognitive dysfunction, and immobility.

A recent meta-analyses reviewed 15 million person-years of data to analyze the role of fiber intake impact on risk of diseases and comorbidities. Here are some findings (DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)31809-9):

For every 10 grams/day of additional dietary fiber is associated with:

- 10% reduction in all-cause mortality (RR: 0.90)

- 19% reduction in cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence (RR: 0.81)

- 8% reduction in colorectal cancer risk (RR: 0.92)

- 8% decrease in coronary heart events

- 24% decrease in risk of death

Highest intake group showed:

- 23% lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 0.77)

- 26% lower risk of CVD mortality (HR: 0.74)

- 20% lower risk of cancer mortality (HR: 0.80)

The mechanism of these benefits for fiber is unclear, but in past decades scientists have found you can selectively encourage beneficial bacteria to grow by supplementing your diet with their preferred energy sources. These supplements, prebiotics (fiber is one of them!), encourage beneficial bacteria to outcompete the harmful microbiome inhabitants. It apparently (hypothesis here) turns on the genes in these beneficial bacteria to survive and thrive, and they in turn produce substances that you absorb like short chair fatty acids that turn on good genes in you. A prebiotic like the fiber in peas should not be confused with a PRO-biotic, which is a food or supplement like yogurt that contains live cultures of beneficial bacteria that populate your gut microbiome for a short time. Fiber causes more lasting and more favorable (to you) changes apparently—at least that is what the data indicate.

A 55-year-old person has an ActualAge that is 4.7 years younger than if they have their recommended fiber intake compared to someone consuming 7 g of fiber a day. A fiber intake of more than 25 or 38 grams/day may offer additional protection but there is no clear upper limit and no large population scale reliable data on greater intakes.

There are two types of fiber and two categories of sources of each type. Insoluble and soluble and sources are: dietary fiber and functional fiber. Dietary fiber is naturally occurring fiber that could be found in food. Functional fiber is isolated or synthetic nondigestible carbohydrates added to foods or taken as supplements.

Insoluble Fiber—the main winner for you in decreasing disease-- is a complex carbohydrate that cannot be digested by normal processes in your intestine in fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. Insoluble fibers do not dissolve in water l. Neither the acid in our stomach, nor the enzymes in our intestines can break down this plant fiber. Nor do the bacteria in our intestines. From a metabolic standpoint insoluble fiber is highly indestructible, meaning that it has no nutritional value.

Soluble fiber dissolves in water like oats, peas, apples, and avocados. Soluble fibers slow down digestion, lowers cholesterol, and decreases blood sugar.

The highest sources of fiber include split peas (16 g per cup ), lentils (15.5 g per cup), black beans (15 g per cups), chia seeds (10 g per ounce), green peas (9 g per cups), avocado (6.7 g per 100 g), and raspberries (8 g per cup). The Institute of Medicine recommends women to take 25 grams a day and men to take 38 grams a day.

The answer to the question is a: just 5% of American’s get the recommended 25 and 38 grams of fiber daily. Here is how you can be a part of the 5% (DOI: 10.1177/1559827615588079).

Want a food that gives you Fiber, Potassium, Protein, and Collagen?

My choices to boost fiber after a tip from one of other docs on the Great Age Reboot Scientific Advisory Board -- a food that gives you Fiber, Protein and Collagen (all three are beneficial for health) try Zen Basil Seeds—--I have (no ownership)–seems relatively tasteless but adds crunch so I’ve added them to my daily evening salad. Basil seeds are a soluble fiber from the sweet basil plant (Ocimum basilicum).

Two tablespoons of basil seeds have 15 g of fiber, 5 g of protein (a lot of which is gelatin—a good form of collagen), and 2.5 g of Omega-3 fatty acid, and a lot of potassium with no sodium-all healthful choices. You can sprinkle them over a salad as I do, or blend them into a smoothie. Some additional health benefits they are known for (but that I have not verified) are their antidiabetic, polyphenol, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties (PMID: 34202798).

More info on the benefits of gelatin as collagen as in Basil Seeds in several weeks.

Thanks for reading,

Michael F. Roizen MD

Jermani M Jones, research associate