Whole grain foods cut disease risk

Monday March 1 5:22 PM ET

Whole grain foods cut disease risk

NEW YORK, Mar 01 (Reuters Health) -- Eating one serving of whole grains per day reduces the risk of dying from cancer, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses, according to a study of older American women.

Among 38,740 women, aged 55 to 69, who were part of the Iowa Women's Health Study, ``women with higher intakes (of whole grain) had healthier lifestyles and less... disease,'' write Dr. David R. Jacobs and colleagues from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. Their report is published in the March issue of the American Journal of Public Health, a journal of the American Public Health Association.

Using questionnaires, the investigators determined that whole grain intake in this group of women varied from less than 1 to more than 3 servings per day.

``During 9 years of follow-up... (the) women in this study who reported eating at least 1 serving per day of whole grain foods... had a substantially lower risk of mortality, including mortality from cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other causes, than did the women who reported eating almost no whole grain products,'' according to the report. From their study findings, the researchers estimate that daily consumption of whole grain foods reduced mortality in these older women by about 15%.

``Amid substantial attention to the health effects of saturated fat and cholesterol, little public attention has been drawn to the importance of whole versus refined grains,'' the investigators write.

In their report, the researchers suggest that ``if all women consumed at least 1 serving per day of whole grain foods, total mortality rates might be reduced, through a variety of mechanisms, by 8% or more.''

Jacobs and colleagues note that according to US Department of Agriculture data, whole grains account for only 1% of total energy consumed by Americans, while refined grains account for more than 20%. The team calls for more study, and recommends that ``it would be prudent for the general population to increase its whole grain intake.''

SOURCE: American Journal of Public Health 1999;89:322-329.