Harvard Researchers Connect Whole Grains With Longer Life

Two good things about whole grains: they actually taste like something; and they could keep you alive a little longer. It’s true. A new study by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health has found that eating more whole grains is associated with up to 15 percent lower mortality—particularly cardiovascular disease-related mortality. A news release from the school reports that the study linked bran, a component of whole grain foods, with up to 6 percent lower overall mortality and up to 20 percent lower cardiovascular-related mortality. The researchers, who studied data from more than 74,000 women and more than 43,000 men who filled out questionnaires about their diet every two or four years from the mid-1980s to 2010, found that whole grain intake was associated with up to 9 percent lower overall mortality and up to 15 percent lower cardiovascular-related mortality. For each serving of whole grains (28g/day), overall mortality dropped by 5 percent. Wait, there’s more: the researchers are convinced that swapping just one serving of refined grains or red meat per day with one serving of whole grains was linked with lower cardiovascular related mortality: 8 percent lower mortality for swapping out refined grains and 20 percent lower mortality for swapping out red meat.