Whole Grains May Help Your Body Burn More Calories

Whole grains are often associated with lower body weights, and new research is uncovering why. In a randomized trial, scientists assigned 81 healthy adults in Boston to diets with either whole grains or refined grains for 6 weeks, keeping all other foods and nutrients consistent between the groups. Although the diets were designed to be isocaloric (meaning that people were supposed to maintain their same body weight), the resting metabolic rate (how many calories your body burns at rest) became significantly higher (by 43 calories) in the whole grain group. In fact, the whole grain group significantly improved their metabolism over the 6-week study compared with the refined grains group, burning 92 more calories per day. The researchers suspect that this is partly due to the fact that the whole grain group excreted more energy in the stool, and had more frequent bowel movements.
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2017 Feb 8. pii: ajcn139683. [Epub ahead of print.] (Karl JP et al.)