People who consume plenty of dietary fibre may enjoy improved lung health, researchers have found.
A new study by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill looked at data on 11,897 men and women, the Nutraingredients website reports.
Researchers found that people who ate the most dietary fibre had a 60.2ml higher forced expiratory volume (FEV1), indicating better lung function than those with the lowest average intake of fibre.
In addition, the study showed that people with the highest intake benefited from a 15 per cent lower risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a lung disease that mainly affects smokers.
Writing in the American Journal of Epidemiology, lead author Haidong Kan revealed: "This study provides the first known evidence that dietary fibre is independently associated with better lung function and reduced prevalence of COPD."
People who consume plenty of dietary fibre may enjoy improved lung health, researchers have found.
