Healthy Heart - Important Studies Show the Whole Grain Connection

As scientists around the world continue their pursuit of knowledge of the human body and how it works, the evidence supporting the importance of a diet rich in whole grains continues to headline news on nutrition! The more we look, the more we find that whole grains do things in our diets that other foods don’t and processed grains like white flour simply can’t.

In the January 2006 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; (volume 83, issue 1,) a study titled “Whole-Grain Intake is Inversely Associated with The Metabolic Syndrome and Mortality in Older Adults” shows that older people who eat whole grains regularly had a significantly reduced risk of heart disease and metabolic syndrome and lower fasting glucose levels. Conversely, refined grains were associated with higher fasting glucose and increased risk of metabolic syndrome.

This builds on evidence published in 2002—“Effect Of Whole Grains on Insulin Sensitivity in Overweight Hyperinsulinemic Adults,” (Am J Clin Nutr 2002, 75: 848-855.)—that showed a direct whole grain advantage over refined grains when it comes to managing healthy insulin levels.

Four Large and Important Studies Show the Whole Grain Connection to good Heart Health.
1. A 1998 study of 34,000 women showed that those who ate at least one serving of whole grains per day had between 30% and 36%  lower risk of heart disease. (“Whole-Grain Intake may ReduceThe Risk Of Ischemic Heart Disease Death in Postmenopausal Women: the Iowa Women's Health Study” Am J Clin Nutr 1998 68: 248-257.)

2. Results of the Nurse’s Health Study that followed 75,000 subjects for up to twelve years showed that those who ate about three servings of whole grains each day had a 25% lower risk of heart disease and a 36% lower risk of stroke than those who did not make whole grain part of their diet. (“Whole-Grain Consumption and Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease: Results from The Nurses’ Health Study,” Am J Clin Nutr 1999, 70: 412-419.)

3. Another study published in a 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association found similarly strong connections to whole grain intake and health, up to 50% reduction of risk of ischemic stroke. (“Whole Grain Consumption and Risk of Ischemic Stroke in Women: A Prospective Study,” JAMA.2000;284:1534-1540.)

4. Of the 44,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, those who consumed about 3 servings per day of whole grain enjoyed an 18% reduction in risk of heart attack. (“Intakes Of Whole Grains, Bran, and Germ and the Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease in Men,” Am J Clin Nutr, 2004, 80: 1492-1499.)

Factoid : When whole grain wheat is refined to make flour, most of its nutritional value goes down the drain. For example, thirteen key nutrients, including vitamin E, are reduced as much as 93%.To compensate for this incredible loss, the flour is enriched, but with only five nutrients, making it into what many scientists and researchers see as negative nutrition. (www.wholegraincouncil.org)