Whole Grains Help Your Heart

Want to help your heart? Eat more whole grains, say doctors at the Harvard School of Public Health. In a study of 42,850 men, they found that those who ate more than 25 grams of whole grains per day reduced their risk of heart disease by about 15%; those who ate more than 11 gram of bran, the highest fiber-part of whole grains, daily cut their risk by a whopping 30%. Good sources include brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat bread, popcorn and bran muffins, says study co-author Pauline Koh-Banerjee, a professor in the department of preventive medicine at the University of Tennessee.

Researches are still trying to figure out exactly how whole grains help the heart. It could be that fiber, plant sterols or other nutrients lower cholesterol. Or it may be the antioxidants, which help protect against hardening of the arteries. Perhaps it's the simple fact that eating them keeps you feeling full and thus may help prevent obesity, a risk factor for heart disease, says Koh-Banerjee. In any case, eating just three servings of whole grains will easily get you a heart-healthy 25 grams.