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A bowl of oatmeal, a sandwich on whole-wheat bread, and a side of brown rice might do more for your heart and overall health than you think, according to a new study.
Eating four to six servings of whole grains each day may provide the greatest benefits for heart health, reducing body weight, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure, according to a large meta-analysis published in the European Heart Journal.
The analysis looked at data from 87 randomized trials involving more than 6,500 people in Asia, Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and Brazil.
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Many of the greatest benefits were found to occur when people ate about 60 to 100 grams of whole grains per day, or about what you would get from a bowl of oatmeal, two slices of whole-wheat bread and a serving of brown rice, according to the researchers.
“This is the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials on whole grain consumption and cardiovascular risk factors,” lead author Helda Tutunchi, of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences in Iran, said in a statement.
A new study suggests that eating more whole grains each day could improve heart health and several other cardiovascular risk factors. (iStock)
People who ate more whole grains had lower body weight, waist circumference, blood pressure, total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and levels of interleukin-6, an inflammatory marker, the study also found.
Tutunchi noted that a key finding was that whole grains appeared to improve heart health through “several modest improvements acting together, rather than through a large effect on a single factor.”
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The researchers cautioned, however, that most of the studies reviewed were short and did not directly measure heart attacks or strokes. Longer-term research is still needed, they said.
Whole grains like oats, brown rice and wholemeal bread can help lower cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. (iStock)
Four to six servings of whole grains is more than the two to four servings recommended by current Dietary Guidelines for Americans — and many Americans don’t even get that, said Lauren Manaker, a registered dietitian nutritionist based in South Carolina.
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“To go from zero to six is a lot,” Manaker, who was not involved in the study, told Fox News Digital. “My recommendation is to start slowly. Two servings are better than zero servings.”
Simple swaps might include starting the day with overnight oats or oatmeal, or replacing refined grains with whole-grain sides such as sorghum or brown rice, she said.
Researchers found the greatest health benefits in people who consumed about four to six servings of whole grains per day. (iStock)
Consumers should also be careful not to assume that every brown-colored loaf at the supermarket is whole grain, Manaker added.
“We want to look at the ingredient list and make sure one of the first ingredients is a whole grain,” she said. “We also want to look at the nutritional panel and make sure it has fiber.”
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Whole grains contain all three parts of the grain — the bran, germ and endosperm — rather than having some parts removed during processing, the researchers noted.
Although the researchers say more studies are needed, they concluded that increasing whole grain consumption is “a relatively simple, accessible, and affordable dietary strategy” that can complement other heart-healthy habits.
Nutrition experts recommend reading bread labels carefully. (iStock)
In an editorial accompanying the report, Cecilie Kyro of the Danish Cancer Institute in Copenhagen and colleagues encouraged policies that make minimally processed whole grains accessible, affordable and culturally acceptable while “avoiding a drift toward ultra-processed products.”
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Fox News Digital has contacted the study authors for comment.
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