Whole Grain Cereal Consumption for Breakfast Decreases Risk of Heart Failure in Men

24/10/07 If you are a man and consume plenty of whole grain cereals for breakfast you probably have a lower risk of heart failure, compared to a man who never or rarely eats whole grains for breakfast, according to an article in Archives of Internal Medicine (JAMA/Archives).

The authors explain that the lifetime risk for heart failure is about 20% for both men and women at 40 years of age. Previous studies had indicated that high grain consumption is linked to a lower risk of hypertension (high blood pressure), coronary heart disease and high blood cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) - and lower mortality in general.

Luc Djoussé, M.D., M.P.H., D.Sc. and Michael Gaziano, M.D., M.P.H., Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and Harvard Medical School, Boston, looked at the link between breakfast cereal consumption and new cases of heart failure among 21,376 males whose average age was 53.7 years. All the males had been taking part in the Physicians Health Study I. They estimated cereal consumption by using a food frequency questionnaire and incident heart failure was calculated by annual follow-up questionnaires for 19.6 years (average).

1,018 of the participants experienced heart failure during the follow-up period. Included were 362 of 6,995 males who did not eat any cereal, 237 of 4,987 who consumed one serving per week of cereal or less, 230 of 5,227 who consumed two to six cereal servings per week, and 189 of 4,167 who consumed at least seven cereal servings per week.

The writers concluded "Our data demonstrate that a higher intake of whole grain breakfast cereals is associated with a lower risk of heart failure." They believe this link may be because of the beneficial effects of whole grains on heart failure risk factors, such as heart attack, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. "If confirmed in other studies, a higher intake of whole grains along with other preventive measures could help lower the risk of heart failure."