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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Eat Whole Grains To Prevent Heart Disease And Live Longer Being cereal grains that contain the germ, endosperm, and bran, whole grains include amaranth, barley, brown rice, buckwheat, corn, maize, oat, rye, wheat, and wild rice. Compared to white bread and white rice, whole grains have richer beneficial nutrients such as fiber, magnesium, Vitamin-E and plant-based compounds known as phytochemicals. They help the body regulate blood sugar, fats and cholesterol, keep the blood vessels healthier, help prevent DNA damage and reduce inflammation in the body. On Jan 5, 2015, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reported in the American Medical Association's journal ‘JAMA Internal Medicine’ that every daily serving of whole grains cut a person's risk of dying from heart disease by 9 percent and decreased the overall risk of dying from anything by 5 percent over a quarter-century. In fact, whole grains have been shown to link to a significant reduction in risk factors for cardiovascular disease (includes heart disease and stroke). Regular consumption of whole grains not only reduces LDL (low-density lipoprotein, the bad cholesterol) and triglyceride but also lowers the risk for hypertension (high blood pressure), diabetes and obesity. The study further supported the findings of many previous studies that linked whole grains to increased longevity, including deaths due to heart disease and stroke. Two giant, long-term, detailed health studies were used for the research. One was the Nurses' Health Study, looking specifically at more than 74,000 women between 1984 and 2010, and the other was Health Professionals Follow-Up Study that followed nearly 44,000 men from 1986 to 2010. All the participants whose health records examined were healthy and free of cancer or heart disease at the outset.
Volunteers got regular medical examinations and agreed to have their medical records open for scrutiny. They also filled out regular questionnaires on what they eat overall and what other healthful foods like fruits and vegetables, how often, when plus whether they exercise, smoke and reveal other personal habits. Factors like age, weight, smoking status, alcohol intake, physical activity, multivitamin use, aspirin use, family history of heart disease, cancer, or diabetes, and history of hypertension, high cholesterol or diabetes were controlled. The researchers even looked at what kinds of whole grains people ate and took into account that whole grain lovers tend to have other healthier behaviors. The association of substituting whole grains for refined grains and red meat were estimated. After a period of 24 to 26 years, 29,920 of the volunteers in the 2 studies died. It was found that those who ate whole grains more regularly were less likely to die of heart disease. For those who replaced one serving of refined grains or total red meat with one serving of whole grains daily was associated with lower cardiovascular disease mortality: 8 percent for replacing refined grains and 20 percent for replacing red meat. Eating whole grains, however, did not affect the risk of dying from cancer. Just like most previous studies, this study was observational that could not prove that whole grains directly influence mortality since it did not report the amount of fiber being consumed by the participants. The researchers also admitted that they have yet to figure out what precise dose of whole grains is most beneficial. But according to their and other findings, the more the better. Most dietary guidelines recommend whole grains. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) advises that at least half the grains consumed each day should come from whole grains. The minimum recommended amount of whole grains should be 3 ounces (85 grams) per day. One serving of old fashioned oats, or half a cup uncooked, contains 40 grams of whole grains. Nevertheless, it is sad that less than 5 percent of Americans consume the minimum recommended amount of 3 ounce per day. On average, Americans eat less than 1 ounce-equivalent of whole grains per day.
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