BMJ: High intake of refined grains may be directly related to an increased risk of heart disease and death in the population

5, 2021 // -- In a recent study published in the international journal British Medical Journal, scientists from st. John's Research Institute in India and other institutions found that high intake of refined grains was directly related to an individual's increased risk of heart disease and death compared to whole grains (unrefined).
cereals such as oats, barley, rice and wheat account for about 50 per cent of the global population's daily calorie intake, and even as high as 70 per cent in low- and middle-income countries, particularly in Africa and South Asia.
Whole grains tend to contain more dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids than refined grains; previous studies have shown that higher whole grain intake is directly associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death in individuals, but researchers have not found a link between these diseases and refined grain intake.
to address this problem, researchers began studying the association between the intake of refined grains, whole grains and fine white rice and cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in the population.
Photo Source: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain, researchers analyzed data from 137,130 participants aged 35-70 in 21 low- and middle-income countries who had no history of heart disease and were included in the PURE Study, Urban Urban and Rural Epidemiological Study.
the researchers then separated white rice from other refined grains, as more than 60 percent of the PURE study population lives in rice-based Asia.
At the start of the study, the researchers collected details about the participants' education, wealth, lifestyle and medical history, and used questionnaires to assess their intake of refined grains, whole grains, and white rice, and then tracked participants' mortality from cardiovascular disease or severe cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, and heart failure, over an average of 9.4 years of follow-up.
When other potential influences were taken into account, the researchers found that the highest intake of refined grains (at least 350 grams per day or about 7 servings per day) was associated with a 27 percent increased risk of death and a 33 percent increased risk of serious cardiovascular disease compared to the lowest category intake (less than 50 grams per day).
, high blood pressure was associated with high intakes of refined grains, but the researchers did not find a clear association between intake of refined grains or white rice and health outcomes.
This is an observational study, and researchers are currently unable to determine a causal link between the two, while the researchers also point to limitations, such as relying on meetings of food questionnaires, which may affect the accuracy of the results.
, however, the researchers analyzed a wide range of dietary patterns using data from 21 countries on five continents, meaning that the results may be reliable and widely applicable to populations around the world.
Therefore, the researchers suggest that people should be encouraged to reduce their intake of refined foods globally, while promoting whole grain intake, and concluded that reducing carbohydrate intake and improving carbohydrate quality are essential to maintaining the body's health.
() Original source: Sumathi Swaminathan, Mahshid Dehghan, John Michael Raj, et al. Associations of cereal grains intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality across 21 countries in Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological study: prospective cohort study, BMJ (2021). DOI:10.1136/bmj.m4948