More whole
grains associated with lower mortality, especially cardiovascular
Eating more whole grains appears to be associated with reduced
mortality, especially deaths due to cardiovascular disease (CVD), but not
cancer deaths, according to a report published online by JAMA Internal
Medicine.
Whole grains are widely recommended in many dietary guidelines
as healthful food. However, data regarding how much whole grains people eat and
mortality were not entirely consistent.
74,341 women from the
Nurses' Health Study (1984-2010) and 43,744 men from the Health Professionals
Follow-Up Study (1986-2010). All the participants were free of cancer and CVD
when the studies began.
The authors documented 26,920 deaths. After the data were
adjusted for potential confounding factors including age, smoking and body mass
index, the study found that eating more whole grains was associated with lower
total mortality and lower CVD mortality but not cancer deaths. The authors
further estimated that every serving (28 grams/per day) of whole grains was
associated with 5 percent lower total mortality or 9 percent lower CVD
mortality.
"These findings further support current dietary guidelines
that recommend increasing whole grain consumption to facilitate primary and
secondary prevention of chronic disease and also provide promising evidence
that suggests a diet enriched with whole grains may confer benefits toward
extended life expectancy," the study concludes.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by The JAMA Network
Journals. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
Hongyu Wu, Alan J. Flint, Qibin Qi, Rob M. van Dam, Laura A.
Sampson, Eric B. Rimm, Michelle D. Holmes, Walter C. Willett, Frank B. Hu, Qi
Sun. Association Between Dietary Whole Grain Intake and Risk of Mortality. JAMA
Internal Medicine, 2015; DOI: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.6283
Cite This Page:
The JAMA Network Journals. "More whole grains associated
with lower mortality, especially cardiovascular." Science Daily,
5 January 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/01/150105125834.htm>.