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  #1   ^
Old Mon, Jul-29-02, 16:32
doreen T's Avatar
doreen T doreen T is offline
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Thumbs down Whole grains can help cut insulin, cholesterol

Last Updated: 2002-07-29 11:18:44 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Suzanne Rostler

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Whole-grain foods, such as fiber-rich bread and bran cereal, may lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer by reducing cholesterol and making the body more responsive to insulin, researchers suggest.

In their study of close to 3,000 middle-aged adults, these foods were associated with lower levels of total cholesterol and LDL (the so-called "bad" cholesterol) and improved insulin sensitivity. Insulin, the body's key blood-sugar-regulating hormone, tends to be elevated in those at risk of type 2 diabetes.

People who consumed the most whole-grain foods also had a lower body mass index (BMI), a measure of weight in relation to height that is considered a more reliable gauge of overweight than weight alone. Indeed, adults who were overweight or obese had the highest insulin levels and consumed the least amount of whole-grain foods, researchers report in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The findings help to explain how whole-grain foods may protect against several chronic disorders and point to the importance of including several daily servings of these foods in the diet. Current dietary guidelines recommend about nine daily servings of carbohydrates for adults, mostly in the form of whole-grain foods.

However, more research is needed into how carbohydrates affect insulin levels and obesity and the subsequent risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease, Dr. Paul Jacques, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health.

Some health experts blame America's obesity epidemic on carbohydrates, pointing out that rates of obesity have risen in tandem with carbohydrate consumption over the past 30 years. Others argue that whole-grain foods, which are high in fiber, vitamin E and magnesium, do not have the same effect on insulin as refined carbohydrates that have been stripped of many nutrients.

"The importance of understanding the role of different carbohydrate sources in the development of insulin resistance is becoming even more critical because Americans appear to be increasing their intake of dietary carbohydrates," Jacques explained.

"Our results suggest that higher whole-grain intakes might help prevent development of insulin resistance, and the influence of whole grains may be strongest in those who are overweight and have the greatest risk of insulin resistance," he said.

The researchers analyzed detailed dietary information and blood samples from study volunteers over a 4-year period, and divided individuals into four groups according to their intake of whole-grain foods. Those with the highest intake of whole grains also tended to have healthier lifestyle habits such as moderate alcohol and meat consumption, not smoking, taking a multivitamin pill and eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2002;76:390-398.

http://www.reutershealth.com/archiv...729elin001.html
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  #2   ^
Old Mon, Jul-29-02, 16:43
doreen T's Avatar
doreen T doreen T is offline
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Plan: LC paleo/ancestral
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I notice the article is rather vague .. the study shows that whole grains "may" reduce cholesterol and heart disease risk. The study "suggests" bran and fiber from grains may reduce insulin resistance and cancer risk. These health benefits were "associated with" increased consumption of whole grains .. Of course, the fact that the benefits were also associated with other modest lifestyle habits including exercise, fiber from vegetables and fruits, vitamin supplementation, moderate alcohol and protein consumption gets a passing mention in the closing paragraph.



Doreen
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Old Tue, Jul-30-02, 11:14
pegm pegm is offline
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Oh, they would not want anyone to think that exercising, eating fresh veggies, or not smoking has anything to do with good health -- it has to be the grains that do it!

Also, they did not say how much grain products these people eat, just that they ate them. If they only eat limited amounts of whole grains, never eat the processed junk, and restrict their sugar consumption along with all of their other good health habits, maybe they have not become insulin resistant.
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Old Tue, Jul-30-02, 16:17
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Voyajer Voyajer is offline
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Good point Peg, I was going to say the same thing.

Bottom line is if you are going to eat grain carbs, you should only eat whole grain. Certain low-carb diets contain a small amount of grain products (PPLP, Schwarzbein), because if these are whole grain they are also low glycemic. Weston A Price organization also promotes whole grain usage.

This study was an epidemiological study (population study) of the Framingham Offspring. What it showed was that people without heart disease or diabetes that ate whole grains were also people trying to follow the low-fat dietary guidelines and were generally not obese and (probably because they weren't obese) had good lipid profiles and less insulin resistance. This however does not show what later happened to these people i.e. if they later developed heart disease. Most of the people studied ate breakfast cereal. Out of those eating breakfast cereal, those that ate whole grain breakfast cereal were better off than those eating refined breakfast cereal. When it boils down to it, all this study showed was that those who ate whole grains, watched their weight and didn't smoke so were generally healthier. I think this is a true statement. But it doesn't prove that eating carbs is healthier than not eating carbs. That wasn't addressed.



American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 76, No. 2, 390-398, August 2002
© 2002 American Society for Clinical Nutrition

Whole-grain intake is favorably associated with metabolic risk factors for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in the Framingham Offspring Study1,2,3,4
Nicola M McKeown, James B Meigs, Simin Liu, Peter WF Wilson and Paul F Jacques

Quote from study:

"The median intake of whole-grain foods ranged from 0.9 to 20.5 serving/wk, from the lowest to the highest quintile category of whole-grain intake. Compared with participants in the lower category, those in the upper category of whole-grain intake tended to be older, tended to have a lower BMI and WHR (the latter even after adjustment for BMI), were less likely to smoke (if they did smoke, they smoked fewer cigarettes on average), were more likely to take multivitamin supplements, and were more likely to take estrogen replacement therapy (women only). A higher intake of whole grains was associated with a healthier diet, with those in the upper category also consuming less saturated fatty acids, alcohol, and meat and more dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, fruit, and vegetables. Favorable trends in lifestyle and dietary factors across quintile categories of whole-grain intake were significant for most factors. The intake of whole grains was positively associated with total intakes of dietary fiber (r = 0.54), magnesium (r = 0.51), folate (r = 0.45), vitamin E (r = 0.40), and vitamin B-6 (r = 0.45), which are important constituents of whole grains. "
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