Nutritional fibers, especially the kind found in whole grains, can protect your body from heart disease, infections, and an assortment of respiratory problems that can shorten your lifespan. These findings, published in the American Internal Medicine Archive, were the result of a large-scale study from 2011 comprising 388,000 participants. The study’s results showed that people who consumed the recommended daily amounts of dietary fibers (25 grams for women and 38 grams for men), enjoyed better health for years.