Making Healthy Choices™

Whole Grains and the Risk of High Blood Pressure

Whole grains contain numerous nutrients (vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals) that are protective to our health. They reside primarily in the outer bran and inner germ layers of the wheat kernel. In making white flour, both the germ and the bran layers are removed along with these protective nutrients. Because of this, white flour is more energy-dense (higher in calories) but less nutrient-dense.

Previous studies have shown that whole grains are protective to the heart, helping reduce the risk of heart attacks. New data now explains one of the ways whole grains protect against cardiovascular disease – by helping prevent high blood pressure.

Researchers studied the relationship between whole grains and blood pressure in a large group of 28,926 women health professionals. All were free of high blood pressure at the beginning of the study. After 10 years, 8,722 women developed high blood pressure. Women who ate the most whole grains (4 or more servings daily) were one-fourth (23%) less likely to develop high blood pressure during the 10-year study than women who ate less than 1 serving of whole grains daily.

The USDA MyPyramid.gov website recommends at least 3 servings of whole grains daily. This study shows that even higher intakes of whole grains – 4 or more servings of whole grains daily – has even greater health benefits; in this case, lower blood pressure levels. The national DASH diet emphasizing fruits, vegetables, and whole grains also demonstrated a lowering of blood pressure using this approach.

Choosing more whole-grains bread and cereals is an easy lifestyle change that can have major health consequences for our nation, especially when you realize that 50 million Americans already have high blood pressure.