In a 2023 meta-analysis in Advances in Nutrition, researchers pulled the results of 181 research trials involving more than 14,000 people, finding that adding soluble fiber can improve cholesterol levels. Specifically, soluble fiber significantly decreases LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol) by 8.28 mg/dL, total cholesterol by 10.82 mg/dL, triglycerides by 5.55 mg/dL, and apolipoprotein B by 44.99 mg/L. How much soluble fiber you add to your diet matters. For every 5 grams of soluble fiber you eat per day, you could lower your total cholesterol by about 6 points and LDL cholesterol by more than 5 points. The researchers found that the cholesterol-lowering effect of soluble fiber was more pronounced in people with type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome. They suggested 15 grams of soluble fiber a day to lower your cholesterol.
The 2017 article in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine pointed out that people could be missing out on their daily fiber needs because of gluten-free, wheat-free, and grain-free diets. While some people need to follow these diets for health reasons, you need to eat 14 grams of fiber for every 1,000 calories you consume every day. According to the University of California San Francisco, at least one-fourth of your daily fiber should come from soluble fiber sources. Soluble fiber can be found in beans, fruits, vegetables, and seeds.