Prevent Disease.com - Whole-Grain Breakfast May Cut Men's Mortality Risk



		Whole-Grain Breakfast May Cut Men's Mortality Risk NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Men who regularly choose whole-grain breakfast cereals, like oatmeal, over refined-grain breakfast cereals may live longer and reduce their risk of heart attack or stroke, new study findings suggest. "These prospective data highlight the importance of distinguishing whole-grain from refined-grain cereals in the prevention of chronic disease," Simin Liu of Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues write in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Only cereals that list a whole grain or bran first in their ingredients or contain a whole grain and have at least two grams of fiber per serving are considered to be whole grain. Liu's team evaluated deaths among more than 86,000 male physicians over the age of 40, along with self-reported information on the men's breakfast cereal intake and lifestyle habits. After 5.5 years, the authors documented 3,114 deaths from all causes, including 1,381 deaths from heart disease. The more whole-grain cereal a man reported consuming, the less likely he was to die from any cause or from heart or blood vessel disease such as heart attack or stroke, even after the investigators accounted for risk factors such as diabetes, obesity, smoking, alcohol consumption and physical activity. In fact, the authors found that men who reported eating the most whole-grain cereal--more than one serving per day--had a 17 percent lower risk of death from any cause than men who rarely or never ate whole-grain cereal. The men who ate the most whole-grain cereal also had a 20 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who consumed the least. But the researchers found no association between refined-grain breakfast cereal intake and mortality from cardiovascular disease or any cause. "Thus, substituting high-fiber products (ie whole-grain cereals, fruit, and vegetables) for low-fiber refined-grain products may have a significant effect on public health," the authors conclude. SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2003;77:594-599. Reference Source 89 For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use PreventDisease.com's "Quick Prevention Resources".