Workshop Report

Abstract

There were about 20 participants in this workshop, with 15 being from industry. As an introduction, I suggested a number of areas of potential discussion. The first was to consider the mechanisms by which dietary fiber reduces the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). Previously in the symposium we were presented with evidence from epidemiologic studies that fiber reduces CHD risk. One of the ways fiber could do this is by reducing blood lipids, and evidence about this had been presented in the symposium earlier. Thus, we could consider the effects of fiber on blood lipids, and particularly the importance of the fall in HDL cholesterol in some studies, or the effects of dietary fiber on serum triglycerides and apolipoproteins. A number of speakers in the symposium presented data about the mechanisms by which fiber lowers serum cholesterol, including altered bile acid metabolism, short chain fatty acid production, insulin or other hormone effects, altered fat absorption or possibly other mechanisms. However, we also heard evidence that fiber reduces CHD risk independent of any effect on serum cholesterol, which suggests that fiber might be acting in other ways, such as reducing blood clotting or altering vascular biology.