Even Small Amounts of Whole Grains Cut Blood Pressure

Dr. Lu Wang, specialist in preventative medicine at Harvard Medical School, has published new findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition about the beneficial blood pressure effects of whole grains. According to his findings, just one serving each day of a whole grain food like raw oatmeal, rich bran cereal, or rough breads can help prevent high blood pressure.

Dr. Wang and his colleagues tracked the dietary patterns of 29,000 American women over ten years. While analyzing the data, the team found that women who reported at least four servings per day of whole grain products were almost 25% less likely to develop high blood pressure than were women who reported less than 1/2 serving of whole grain products per day. While those results were striking, the team was encouraged to find that even among women reporting just one serving of whole grains per day, the risk of high blood pressure went down by a statistically significant amount - somewhere between 5% and 7%.

According to careful analysis the researchers performed on their own data, the results do not appear to be affected by exercise level, smoking habits, age, or even other dietary patterns.