Report: Whole Grain Cereal May Prevent Heart Failure in Men

Men who eat larger amounts of whole grain breakfast cereals may lower their risk of heart failure, according to new report published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School in Boston studied the link between breakfast cereal consumption and cases of heart failure. In their study, researchers tracked 21,376 men, who were an average age of 53.7, and their intake of cereal and incidents of heart failure over more than 19 years.

The Physician’s Health Study found that 1,018 of the volunteers had heart failure, including: 362 of 6,995 participants who did not eat any cereal; 237 of 4,987 of those who ate one serving or less per week; 230 of 5,227 of those who ate two to six servings per week; and 189 of 4,167 who ate seven servings or more per week.

The data, according to researchers, proves the beneficial effects of eating whole grain foods and preventing heart failure as well as related illnesses such as hypertension, myocardial infarction, heart attack, diabetes mellitus and obesity.

“Our data demonstrates that a higher intake of whole grain breakfast cereals is associated with a lower risk of heart failure,” said the authors. “If confirmed in other studies, a higher intake of whole grains along with other preventive measures could help lower the risk of heart failure.”