Oats

Whole grains are healthy carbohydrate foods that may be especially protective against type 2 diabetes. In this study, researchers analyzed the eating habits and health status of 55,465 middle-aged adults in Denmark. Those eating more whole grains were 11% and 7% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes (for men and women, respectively) over the 15-year study period. Rye bread, whole-grain bread, oatmeal, and muesli were all significantly associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes for both men and women, indicating a benefit for whole grains in general, rather than just one specific type of whole grain food.
The Journal of Nutrition. 2018 Sep 1;148(9):1434-1444. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxy112. (Kyrø C et al.)

Refined wheat and rice noodles are common staple foods throughout Asia today, so replacing some of these foods with whole grain versions could go a long way in improving health. To test the impact, researchers randomly assigned 84 healthy adults (some with mildly high cholesterol) in Taiwan to an oat noodle group or a refined wheat noodle group, providing them with 100 grams (about 1 ½ cups cooked) of their respective noodles across 1 or 2 meals each day for 10 weeks. After the 10-week study, the oat group reduced their total cholesterol by 17% and LDL-c (“bad”) cholesterol by 19% compared with the wheat noodle group. The oat noodle group also significantly lowered their blood pressure by 7-11%, but the wheat noodle group did not. The benefits tended to be stronger in people who started the study with slightly high cholesterol, but the results were still statistically significant for the group as a whole.
Journal of Food and Drug Analysis. 2018 April. [Epub ahead of print.] (Liao MY et al.)