Eating more fibre could help you live longer without getting sick

Eat more fibre to prevent diseases later in life. Photo: AFP/Shutterstock

New research has found that a diet rich in fibre could not only improve our everyday health now, but could also improve our future health by helping us avoid disease and disability in old age.

Scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research in Australia looked at data from a cohort group of more than 1,600 adults aged 50 years and over to look at a possible association between carbohydrate nutrition and what the team call "successful ageing" defined as an absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke.