Could Eating Whole Grains Extend Your Lifespan?

Consuming whole grains (WGs) could lengthen an individual’s lifespan, according to an analysis of prospective cohort studies reporting associations between whole grain intake and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

The investigators relied on research data from 786,076 individuals between the years 1970 and 2010, including unpublished studies, to demonstrate inverse associations of WG intake with total and cause-specific mortality, with findings regarding cardiovascular disease mortality “particularly strong and robust.”
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More specifically, the meta-analysis revealed a 7% decrease in total deaths for each 16-g serving of WGs, a 9% drop in cardiovascular disease-related deaths, and a 5% decline in deaths related to cancer. Participants eating 48 g of WG each day showed a 20% less risk of mortality, a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality, and were at a 14% lower likelihood of cancer mortality.

US Food and Drug Administration dietary guidelines have included WGs since 1995, but the average intake among the US population remains less than 1 serving per day, according to lead study author Geng Zong, PhD, a research fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, who notes that this amount is “largely below current recommendations.”

Several possible barriers to increased WG intake have been recognized, Zong said.

For example, “Whole grain foods have been hard to identify on the market,” he said, adding that “some groups have developed labels for whole grain foods, but this remains voluntary.”

The concept of “whole grains” is often mixed with others, such as “multigrain” and “high-fiber,” Zong said. “So, efforts are needed to explain the concept of whole grains to the public.”

US Department of Agriculture dietary guidelines recommend that at least half of the grain-based food consumed should be WGs, which would be 3 servings or about 48 g of WGs in dry weight, he says.

“This might be easy if we eat brown rice, which is 100% whole grains. But more often than not, whole grains are not consumed alone, which makes the calculation hard,” Zong said, noting recent US Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee recommendations that a food providing at least 8 g of whole grains or a 30-g serving be defined as a whole-grain food, “which may help to guide food production and primary care practice.”

—Mark McGraw

Reference:

Zong G, Gao A, Hu FB, Sun Q. Whole grain intake and mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. Circulation. 2016;133(24):2370-2380.