Whole Grains and Seeds Good For Heart Health

In this review, researchers from Spain and the US analyzed existing research on seeds (whole grains, tree nuts, peanuts, pulses, cocoa, and coffee) to determine their relationship to heart health. Based on the research, including over 25 studies on whole grains alone, the scientists found a decreased risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, and improved cholesterol, when eating seed foods like whole grains. They deemed seeds as “natural health capsules, where the synergistic interaction of their many bioactive constituents may all favorably influence human physiology.” The researchers also noted that “it is often difficult to tease out the effects of the individual components of a whole food,” indicating that seeds are best eaten in their whole form (like whole grains), rather than being refined into individual constituents.
Circulation. 2013 July 30;128(5):553-65. (Ros E et al.)