Eating Whole Grains are Healthy

From Reuters Health comes a story reporting on a study of nearly 34,000 Norwegian adults. In this study those who ate the highest amounts of whole grain had a 23% reduced risk of death from heart disease, and a 21% reduced risk of death from cancer compared with people who ate little or no whole grains. Because of this and because there have been similar findings among Americans, the United States Department of Agriculture is recommending that Americans "eat a variety of grains daily, especially whole grains."

Commenting on the study, lead study author Dr. David Jacobs Jr., of the University of Minnesota said, "This study bolsters the whole idea that the whole grain might be good for you." The study was originally published in the February 2001 issue of the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Jacobs concluded by saying, "The people who eat (whole grains) tend to have healthier lifestyles in general, so their diet is generally higher in fruits and vegetables and lower in red meat. We find then that part of the benefit of the whole grain is the other things that people do with it, but part of it seems to be related to the whole grain itself."