Whole grains

While many studies have previously shown that whole grains reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults, a recent study led by Nadine Sahyoun at the University of Maryland shows for the first time that this benefit extends to older adults. In Sahyoun’s study, whole grains were also linked with a lower overall risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 2006; vol 83(1):124-133

Following up on studies that show a relationship between whole grain consumption and heart health, researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, led by Alice Lichtenstein, have found one reason why. Over 3 years, they studied the diet habits and artery-diameter measurements of 229 post-menopausal women already diagnosed with a heart condition, and found that eating 6 servings or more per week of whole grains was associated with slower buildup of artery-narrowing plaque.
American Heart Journal, July 2005; vol 150(1):94-101

Yet another study documents the relationship between whole grain consumption and heart health. Dr. Majken Jensen and fellow professionals at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed diet and health records of over 27,000 men aged 40-75, over a period of 14 years, and found that those with the highest whole grain intake (about 40g per day) cut heart disease risk by almost 20% – but even those eating just 25g cut their CHD risk by 15%.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, December 2004; vol 80(6):1492-1499

A team led by Dr. Pauline Koh-Banerjee studied diet and health records of 72,000 men and found that those who ate 40 grams of whole grains per day cut middle-age weight gain by up to 3.5 pounds. Just one cup of cooked oatmeal or two slices of whole-wheat bread would provide this amount of whole grain.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2004; vol 80(5):1237-45

Dr. Rui Hai Liu of Cornell and his colleagues discovered that whole grains contain protective antioxidants in quantities rivalling or exceeding those in fruits and vegetables. Corn, for instance, has almost twice the antioxidant activity of apples, while wheat and oats almost equal broccoli and spinach in antioxidant activity.
American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) International Conference on Food, Nutrition and Cancer, November 2004

Researchers led by Dr. Mark Pereira collected data on 91,058 men and 245,186 women who participated in 10 studies in the US and Europe. After 6-10 years of followup, the research showed that, for each 10 grams of fiber consumed per day, there was a 14% reduction in heart disease risk and a 25% reduction in risk of dying from heart disease. In short, the cereal fiber in whole grains appears to make heart disease much less likely—and less serious if it does occur.
Archives of Internal Medicine, February 2004; vol 164:370-376

At the University of Utah, a team led by Dr. Martha Slattery found that high intakes of vegetables, fruits and whole grains reduced the risk of rectal cancer by 28%, 27% and 31% respectively. A high-fiber diet (more than 34 grams of fiber per day) reduced rectal cancer by an impressive 66%, in this study of over 2000 people.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, February 2004; 79(2):274-281

Dr. Nicola McKeown and fellow researchers at Tufts University found that people who eat three or more servings of whole grains a day, especially from high-fiber cereals, are less likely to develop insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome, common precursors of both Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes Care, February 2004; vol 27:538-546

As part of the well-known Nurses’ Study, Simin Liu and fellow researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health followed over 74,000 women from 1984-1996, and concluded that women who consumed more whole grains consistently weighed less than women who consumed less whole grains.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2003; vol 78(5):920-927

In a 1989 meta-analysis of existing studies, JK Chavan and SS Kadam found evidence that “Sprouting of grains for a limited period causes increased activities of hydrolytic enzymes, improvement in the contents of certain essential amino acids, total sugars, and B-group vitamins, and a decrease in dry matter, starch, and antinutrients. The digestibilities of storage proteins and starch are improved due to their partial hydrolysis during sprouting.”
Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 1989; 28(5):401-37.