Science & Tech
Dina Rickman
Mar 24, 2015
Today in news welcomed by all residents of north London, researchers have found a diet high in whole grains and cereals - such as quinoa and porridge - could help save your life.
The research, from the Harvard Public School of Health, looked at 367,442 American adults from 1995 to 2009. They recorded 46,067 deaths – and found those who ate whole grains daily had a 17 per cent lower risk of premature death. Those who ate a lot of whole grains were also 11 per cent less likely to die from a respiratory disease, while people who ate a lot of cereal fibre were 15 per cent less likely to develop cancer.
Lead author Dr Lu Qi said the results indicated whole grains and cereal fibre reduced the risk of mortality and death from cancer, heart disease, respiratory disease and infections.
However, because the study was observational they cannot firmly state that eating more whole grains and oats limits will definitely prolong your life, just that it correlates with lower risk of premature death.
“Our findings should motivate future studies especially clinical trials and experimental studies to further testify the beneficial effects of whole grains and potential effective components such as fibre and other nutrients, and explore mechanisms,” Dr Lu Qi said.
The full paper was published in BMC medicine and can be viewed here.
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