Cvd Risk Reduction

Soluble Fiber and its Effects on Cardiovascular Disease Risk Reduction

The topic of this paper is to discuss the effects of a diet high in soluble fiber on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk based on the current research. This paper aims to provide an evaluation of some of the more recent data on the CVD risk reduction potential of soluble fiber. This evaluation is intended for physicians, but more specifically dietitians, to refer to when dealing with patients showing a risk for cardiovascular disease. The term cardiovascular disease encompasses a number of heart and blood vessel conditions that are in most cases caused by a blood clot which is referred to as atherosclerosis. This includes heart attack, stroke, heart failure, arrhythmia, and

Along with a diet low in cholesterol, total, and saturated fat, the FDA made recommendations for two types of soluble fibers, psyllium and beta-glucan. The recommendation is for 4 servings/day of either with psyllium at 1.78g/serving and beta-glucan at 0.75g/serving.3 The study was a randomized, double-blind, crossover design. Thirty-seven men and thirty-one women between the ages of 32 and 82 years who had CVD risk factors at baseline, were randomly separated into two groups. One group was given the control diet, which consisted of breakfast cereals, breads, pastas, frozen dinners, and snacks, while the other group was given the high-fiber, diet which consisted of the same foods with added psyllium and beta-glucan in their respective dosages. The diets also followed the guidelines of less than 30 percent of calories from total fat, less than 7 percent of calories from saturated fat, and less than 200 mg of cholesterol. The diets lasted for 4 weeks followed by a two-week washout period in order to prevent the diets from influencing each other. After the washout period, both groups switched diets. At the end of each diet, total cholesterol, HDL, LDL, triglycerides, blood pressure, ApoB, and ApoA-1 were measured. The change in treatment values for both diets were compared. There was a significant improvement in treatment values for total cholesterol,

A diet high in soluble fiber can reduce Total cholesterol and triglycerides while including a variety of whole grains can reduce LDL cholesterol and LDL:HDL. As for areas of future research, there are still variables that can be tested for potential CVD risk reduction such as a hypo-caloric diet rich in soluble fiber compared with an iso-caloric diet or even hyper-caloric diet. There still may be other factors that can more significantly reduce CVD risk in conjunction with increasing soluble fiber intake and following healthier diet