Wholegrains and blood sugars
This week we share our good friend Ashleigh Feltham's blog post on the benefits of wholegrains in your diet.
Adding wholegrains to your meals and snacks each day reaps many health benefits. A recent study has reinforced the many reasons to enjoy these healthy carbohydrates as they are linked to a smaller waistline, better blood sugar control, healthy cholesterol levels, and lower blood pressure.
The study used data from the Framingham Heart Study Offspring Cohort which was conducted over 18 years and made up of 3100 adults mostly in their 50’s at the beginning of the study. It was found that those individuals who ate more than three servings of wholegrains each day had a smaller waistline, lower systolic blood pressure (the blood pressure when your heart contracts) and better blood sugar control than those who ate less than one and a half serves of wholegrains each day.
Over the 18 years, the people in the low wholegrains group resulted in an average waist circumference increase of over 1 inch compared to only half an inch in the high wholegrain group. On top of this the triglyceride levels, which in excess can lead to heart disease, were reduced more in those people who chose wholegrains over refined grain varieties in each four year follow up period.
Wholegrains contain a matrix of health benefits which can explain for these results. With the wholegrain comes more fibre which is linked to support healthy blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Wholegrains are rich in the minerals potassium and magnesium as well as antioxidants which support healthy blood pressure.