Can Grains Help Lower Your Blood Pressure?
Eating at least three servings of whole grains each day can keep your weight, blood pressure and blood sugar levels in check as you age, a new study found.
“Eating whole-grain foods as part of a healthy diet delivers health benefits beyond just helping us lose or maintain weight as we age,” said senior author Nicola McKeown, a scientist on the nutritional epidemiology team at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, in a statement.
“These data suggest that people who eat more whole grains are better able to maintain their blood sugar and blood pressure over time,” McKeown said. “Managing these risk factors as we age may help to protect against heart disease.”
In the study, published Tuesday in The Journal of Nutrition, researchers followed 3,100 people in their 50s at regular four-year intervals for 18 years, thus allowing researchers to track changes in eating habits over time. Compared to people who ate less than one-half serving of whole grains, people who ate three or more servings daily over time had a lower average increase in waist size (0.5 inch instead of 1 inch) and a greater decline in triglyceride levels during each four-year period.
Excerpted from CNN
