HHS HealthBeat (January 14, 2008)

A good breakfast and a good heart

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

A bowl of whole grain cereal in the morning might do a man’s heart good. Researchers say men who ate more whole grain cereals had a lower risk of heart failure.

Luc Djousse of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that in a long-running study of the health of men doctors.

``People who eat one or more serving per day had a 28 percent lower risk of having heart failure over nearly 20 years of follow-up.’’ (10 seconds)

And with more servings, there was more benefit.

The study in Archives of Internal Medicine was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

This study didn’t look for reasons how the benefit could come. But other studies have suggested that whole grains can lower the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart attacks.

Learn more at hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: January, 14 2008