Whole Grains Help Blood Pressure Health in Men

by | Aug 7, 2009 | Blood Pressure, Men's Health, Whole Grains

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. A follow up of 51,529 males found that those with the highest whole grain diet had a 19% reduction in high blood pressure compared to those who had a high fiber diet.

High blood pressure (HBP) affects more than 65 million American adults (1) and nearly 1 billion people worldwide (2). 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 may 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 (7).  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.  Those in the high fiber group had 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 (8), blood vessel function (9), and increasing “fullness” (satiety) after meals (10).  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.”

Source: Flint, Alan J., et al. “Whole grains and incident hypertension in men.” The American journal of clinical nutrition 90.3 (2009): 493-498.

© 2009 American Society for Nutrition

Posted August 7, 2009

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.

References:

  1. “High Blood Pressure Statistics” posted on the American Heart Association website.
  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 the American Heart Association website.
  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 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
  6. Flint AJ.  Whole grains and incident hypertension in men   Published July 1, 2009; doi:10.3945/ajcn.2009.27460.
  7. HPFS details available at Harvard School of Public Health website.
  8. 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.
  9. Katz DL, Nawaz H, Boukhalil J, et al. Effects of oat and wheat cereals on endothelial responses. Prev Med 2001;33:476–84.
  10. Howarth NC, Saltzman E, Roberts SB. Dietary fiber and weight regulation. Nutr Rev 2001;59:129–39.