To Live Longer, Eat Whole Grains

Readers who would prefer a longer life should note well: Researchers at Harvard Medical School tracked about 370,000 people -all aged from 50 to 71- from the mid-1990s, when they took surveys, through the year 2009. The envelope please… the researchers found that those who ate the most fiber were 17 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who ate the least. But wait, the risk of death during the study was pretty low to begin with; only about 12 percent (just over 46,000) of the people died during the study period. HealthDay reports on a few other things that might influence the findings: Those who ate the most fiber were more likely to be educated, less likely to be obese and less likely to smoke than those who ate the least. The whole grain eaters also ate much less red meat. OK, how many whole grains does one have to eat to be a whole grain eater?  The researchers defined heavy eaters of whole grains — those with the greatest life span benefits — as those who ate 34 grams of whole grains for every 1,000 calories they consumed per day. That’s the  equivalent of five slices of whole wheat bread or 5 cups of whole-grain breakfast cereal.