By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, July 21, 2009, abstracted from “Whole grains and incident hypertension in men” printed online July 1, 2009 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

High blood pressure (HBP) affects more than 65 million American adults (1) and nearly 1 billion people worldwide (2). The death rate from HBP increased by 26.8% from 1992-2002, causing nearly 50,000 American deaths in 2002 alone (1). High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease (2) which affects almost 81 million Americans and claimed 869,724 lives in 2004, accounting for 1 of every 2.8 deaths (3). As a result, high blood pressure has been deemed a worldwide epidemic (4) and is estimated to cost our healthcare system $73 billion in 2009 (5).

Now a new study (6) has found that whole grains, known to benefit heart health (7) and colorectal health (8) may also help with blood pressure. In the Health Professionals follow-up study (HPFS), 51,529 male health professionals ranging in age from 40 to 75 at the start of the study in 1986 were followed through 2004 (9).

The researchers found that, compared to those with the lowest intake of whole grains per day (less than 3.3 grams per day), those with the highest intake of whole grains per day (greater than 46 grams per day) had a 19% decreased risk of high blood pressure and an 11% decreased risk with 27 grams per day. This increased whole grain intake translated to a 40% higher intake of fiber (27.2 versus 16.3 grams per day), a remarkably higher intake of bran (12 versus 0.3 grams per day), and a 6% lower calorie intake per day (1876 vs. 1996 calories per day).

The researchers suggested that whole grains elicited this healthy effect on blood pressure by helping maintain insulin sensitivity (10), blood vessel function (11), and increasing “fullness” (satiety) after meals (12). They went on to conclude that “we found an independent inverse association between intake of whole grains and incident hypertension in men” and that “Bran may play an important role in this association.”

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:PitchingDoc@msn.com or visiting his web site at www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

1. “High Blood Pressure Statistics” posted on the American Heart Association website http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4621
2. David Conen D. Blood pressure progression: prospective cohort study with high normal blood pressure or blood Risk of cardiovascular events among women. BMJ published online 19 Aug 2007; doi:10.1136/bmj.39269.672188.AE
3. “Cardiovascular Disease Statistics” posted on www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4478
4. Casas JP. Homocysteine and stroke: evidence on a causal link from mendelian randomization. Lancet 2005; 365(9455): 224-232
5. “May is high blood pressure education month” posted on www.cdc.gov/features/highbloodpressure/
6. Flint AJ. Whole grains and incident hypertension in men Published July 1, 2009; doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27460
7. Nettleton JA. Incident Heart Failure Is Associated with Lower Whole-Grain Intake and Greater High-Fat Dairy and Egg Intake in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. J Am Diet Assoc. 2008;108:1881-1887
8. Effectiveness of whole grain consumption in the prevention of colorectal cancer: Meta-analysis of cohort studies. International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, printed online March 21, 2009
9. HPFS details available at www.hsph.harvard.edu/hpfs/
10. Fukagawa NK, High-carbohydrate, high-fiber diets increase peripheral insulin sensitivity in healthy young and old adults. Am J Clin Nutr 1990;52:524–8
11. Katz DL, Nawaz H, Boukhalil J, et al. Effects of oat and wheat cereals on endothelial responses. Prev Med 2001;33:476–84.
12. Howarth NC, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutr Rev 2001;59:129–39