A compelling new study recommends eating nutritious grains daily, along with an intriguing explanation for why it works.
As if you needed another reason to savor a slice of whole-grain bread, a new study has highlighted the health benefits of consuming a healthy amount of whole grains each day. We've got the exact amount the researchers recommend, as well as the fascinating process that causes this physiological benefit.
A team of nutrition epidemiology specialists from Tufts and Harvard universities evaluated the diet habits of 3,100 people for a new study published this week in the peer-reviewed Journal of Nutrition. The researchers visited the study participants once every four years over 18 years, starting in their fifties, to collect medical data.
According to CNN, people who ate three or more daily servings of whole grains reported "a smaller average growth in waist size (a half-inch compared to one inch) and a higher drop in triglyceride levels across each four-year period." This was compared to a group that consumed less than a half-serving of food every day.
Increases in blood sugar levels and systolic blood pressure were also lower in the whole grain-eating group (which, according to Harvard University, is more prevalently associated with heart disease and stroke than is diastolic blood pressure).
The researchers' explanations for why whole grains have these effects appear to be persuasive. "Soluble fiber, in particular, may have a favorable influence on post-meal blood sugar surges," study co-author Caleigh Sawicki, Ph.D., MPH, explained when it came to blood sugar.
Regarding the weight-loss benefits of whole grains, Sawicki claims that they have a "satiating impact" that encourages people to eat less. Sawicki further claims that the antioxidants and minerals, such as magnesium and potassium, that remain in these foods when the grain is left whole helped lower systolic blood pressure.
To calculate a single serving size, look on the side panel of whole-grain pasta, cereal, brown rice, and other goods, keeping in mind that a portion of food is called "whole grain" when each serving contains half an ounce of those grains.