SEARCH HEALTH STUDIES

Rye Crispbread Satisfies Appetite Better

Wondering what to have for breakfast? Researchers in Sweden, where rye has been the go-to grain for centuries, set out to compare two breakfast bread choices: whole grain rye crisp bread and (refined) white wheat bread. Although subjects ate similar amounts of each food for breakfast, they reported higher fullness, lower hunger, and less desire to eat after consuming the rye crisp than after eating the white bread. When study participants were allowed to eat as much as they wanted at lunch later that day, those who ate rye crisp for breakfast ate about 8% fewer calories at lunch.
Nutrition Journal. 2014 Mar 25;13(1):26. (Forsberg et al.)

Whole Grain, Fiber Consumption are Related

Researchers at General Mills teamed up with the University of Minnesota to explore the relationship between whole grain consumption and intake of total dietary fiber. Using NHANES data from 2009-10, they determined that people who eat more whole grain do indeed have higher dietary fiber intake; people who eat fewer whole grains do not make up their fiber shortfall from other sources. Adults obtained most of their whole grains from breads (27%), RTE cereals (20%) and oatmeal (21%), while the breakdown for children and adolescents was breads (24%), RTE cereals (25%) and oatmeal (12%).
Nutrition Research. 2014 Mar;34)3):226-34. (Reicks et al.)

Darker Rice Richer in Antioxidants

Scientists in Portugal studied different varieties of rice to determine which components might be linked to lower incidence of some chronic diseases in rice-consuming regions of the world. After building a database compiling information from 316 papers, they determined that black rice had the highest level of antioxidants, followed in descending order by purple, red and brown rice. Based on their findings, they advised that “rice should be preferentially consumed in the form of bran or as whole grain.” They also found, however, that many other cereal grains had higher levels of most antioxidants than rice.
Food Science & Nutrition. 2014 Mar;2(2):75-104.  (Goufo et al.)

Cholesterol Falls Slightly with Whole Grains

In a small study in Rome, 13 postmenopausal women took part in a randomized double-blind crossover trial. For two 4-week periods, they ate whole grain breakfast cereals, biscuits or pasta high in lignans or refined grain foods, separated by a two-week washout period. A modest decrease in cholesterol was observed during the whole grain phase of the study.
International Journal of Food Sciences & Nutrition. 2014 Mar 10. [epub ahead of print] (Durazzo et al.)

Avoiding Preterm Delivery

66,000 pregnant Norwegian women answered food frequency questionnaires and were subsequently classified into three dietary pattern groups: “prudent” (vegetables, fruits, oils, water as beverage, whole grain cereals, fiber-rich bread), “Western” (salty and sweet snacks, white bread, desserts, processed meat products) and “traditional” (potatoes, fish). They found that women following a “prudent” or “traditional” diet were at a lower risk of preterm delivery.
BMJ. 2014 Mar 4;348:g1446. (Englund-Ögge et al.)

Whole Grain Bread Not Associated with Central Obesity

Norwegian researchers reviewed data from more than 50,000 adults to investigate possible associations between central obesity and diet. After adjusting for confounding variables, they found that people with central obesity ate less bread, especially whole grain bread. They also had lower intake of fruits, berries, vegetables, pasta and rice – and higher intake of sausages, hamburgers and boiled potatoes. Researchers especially cited decreased consumption of whole grain bread and increased consumption of sugar-free drinks as being of special clinical significance.
Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism. 2014 Feb 12:1-10 (Mostad et al.)

RCT Shows Whole Grains Reduce Inflammation Markers

Scientists in Iran conducted a randomized controlled crossover trial with 44 overweight or obese adolescent girls, to gauge the impact of whole grain consumption on markers of systemic inflammation. After a two-week run-in period, half the girls ate a diet where at least half their grains were whole grains, while the others avoided whole grains entirely in favor of refined grains. After six weeks, both groups observed a four-week washout period, then the groups switched. When the girls ate whole grains, C-reactive protein (an important inflammation marker) reduced by an average of 21.8%; when they ate refined grains, CRP went up about 12.1%. Other inflammation markers were also significantly reduced during the whole grain period.
Molecular Nutrition and Food Research. 2014 Jan 20, Epub ahead of print. [Hajishemi et al.]

Replacing SFAs with Whole Grain Lowers Heart Risk

Whether decreasing saturated fat (SFAs) can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD)depends on what replaces the SFAs. A review of current research, carried out by Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton at Penn State and others, shows that replacing SFAs with unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated or monounsaturated), with lean protein, or with whole grain carbohydrates all reduce CVD risk. However, “replacing SFAs with refined carbohydrate does little to alter risk.”
Current Opinion in Lipidology. 2013 Dec 17 [Epub ahead of print] (Flock et al.)

Whole Wheat May Improve Intestinal Wall Integrity

“Leaky gut” is now widely accepted as a contributor to many diseases. Scientists at Denmark’s National Food Institute and the Technical University of Denmark conducted a 12-week energy-restricted intervention with 70 postmenopausal women to observe the effect of a whole wheat diet (n=37) vs a refined wheat diet (n=33). Women who ate the whole wheat diet had significant increases in beneficial bifidobacteria, and an unexpected increase in “trans-epithelial resistance,” a measure of the permeability of the intestinal wall that shows a decrease in “leaky gut.”
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 2013 Dec; 67(12):1316-21. (Christensen et al.)

Higher Whole Grain Intake Linked to Lower Distal Colon Cancer

Scientists at the Danish Cancer Society Research Center collaborated on a study to investigate the link between whole grain intake and colorectal cancer. Rather than rely on whole grain intake estimation, they measured levels of alkylresorcinols, which are biomarkers of whole grain rye and wheat intake, in 1372 colorectal cancer patients and an equal number of controls. They found that those with the highest whole grain intake had the lowest risk of distal colon cancer, but did not find a correlation with colon cancer overall, with proximal colon cancer or with rectal cancer.
Journal of the National Cancer Institute. 2013 Dec 7 [Epub ahead of print] (Kyrø et al.) 

Impact of Whole Grains on Antioxidant Capacity and Periodontitis

Researchers working with Dr. Chris Seal at Newcastle University in the UK carried out an intervention to explore links between diet and periodontal disease. Fifty-one participants (30-65 years old) were divided into two groups; half received customized dietary advice to increase fruits, vegetables and whole grains. At 3 and 6 months post dietary change, the intervention had significantly higher intakes of fruits and vegetables, and at 6 months, higher levels of whole grain consumption; this difference showed up as a significant increase in plasma total antioxidant capacity. However, no differences were observed in periodontal measures.
Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 2013 Dec 6 [Epub ahead of print] (Zare et al.)

Whole Grains Higher in Phytophenols than Fruits, Vegetables

Scottish researchers, citing increasing evidence that the protective benefit of whole grains is due to positive changes in gut microbiota due to phytophenols from plant fiber, compared the phytophenols in recommended serving sizes of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. They found that the whole grain cereals delivered substantially higher amounts of phytophenols available for metabolism in the colon, which “may, in part, explain the evidence for the protective effects of whole-grain cereals.”
Food Chemistry. 2013 Dec 1; 141(3):2880-6. (Neacsu et al.)

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