Eating Whole Grains Linked to Lower Rates of Heart Disease

Older adults who ate nearly three servings of whole-grain foods daily were significantly less likely to die from heart disease than those who ate fewer servings.

That's according to a study conducted by researchers at the ARS Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, Mass., and their colleagues, and published in the January 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (volume 83, pages 124 to 131).

They based their findings on their 1981-1984 analysis of three-day food records and blood tests from 535 healthy male and female participants older than 60, and their 12- to 15-year follow-up to assess the causes of death among participants during those years.

When sorted into groups according to the amount of whole-grain foods they ate, those who ate the most—an average of about 2.9 servings a day—had significantly less risk of dying from heart disease than those in the group with the lowest intake. (Whether the participants changed their preference for whole grains during the follow-up period is not known.)

The scientists concluded that adults of all ages should increase the amount of whole grains they eat to three servings a day—the recommended level—or even more.

Today, most Americans eat less than one daily serving of a whole-grain food.

Source:
U.S. Department of Agriculture