Whole grains can help older adults maintain a thinner waist, lower blood pressure and lower blood sugar, new research suggests.
Just three servings a day may do the trick, the authors said.
One serving is a slice of whole-grain bread, a half-cup of rolled oat cereal, or a half-cup of brown rice.
Researchers noted that their study -- partially funded by the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition -- doesn't prove that whole grains are protective, only that there appears to be a link between them and waist size, blood pressure and blood sugar.
"These are all risk factors that can contribute to the development of heart disease if not maintained at healthy levels," said study co-author Nicola McKeown of the Nutritional Epidemiology Team at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston.
The researchers used data from a health study of residents in Framingham, Mass., which started in 1948. They looked at health outcomes linked to whole and refined grains in the diets of more than 3,100 participants. Data was collected every four years over a median follow-up of 18 years. (Median means half were followed longer, half for less time.)
The new study compared changes in five heart disease risk factors -- blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and waist size -- with reported intake of whole grains. Researchers examined effects of eating less than a half-serving to three or more a day.
Just three servings a day may do the trick, the authors said.
One serving is a slice of whole-grain bread, a half-cup of rolled oat cereal, or a half-cup of brown rice.
Researchers noted that their study -- partially funded by the General Mills Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition -- doesn't prove that whole grains are protective, only that there appears to be a link between them and waist size, blood pressure and blood sugar.
"These are all risk factors that can contribute to the development of heart disease if not maintained at healthy levels," said study co-author Nicola McKeown of the Nutritional Epidemiology Team at Tufts University's Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston.
The researchers used data from a health study of residents in Framingham, Mass., which started in 1948. They looked at health outcomes linked to whole and refined grains in the diets of more than 3,100 participants. Data was collected every four years over a median follow-up of 18 years. (Median means half were followed longer, half for less time.)
The new study compared changes in five heart disease risk factors -- blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides and waist size -- with reported intake of whole grains. Researchers examined effects of eating less than a half-serving to three or more a day.
