Research now reveals that dietary fiber intake is linked to successful aging.

A new paper -- published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences by scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research -- reports that eating the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals, and fruits can help us avoid disease and disability into old age.

They discovered that out of all the factors they examined -- which included a person's complete carbohydrate intake, total fiber intake, glycemic index, glycemic load, and sugar intake -- it was the fiber that made the largest difference to what the researchers termed "successful aging.”

Successful aging was defined as living with absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke.