Summary: Eating whole grain foods lowers your risk of death, especially death from cardiovascular disease.Despite the popularity of such grain-eschewing diets as the Paleo and the gluten-free craze, a new study has found that people who eat a whole grain-rich diet live longer. Eating more whole grains may decrease people’s risk of death by up to 15%, particularly from heart disease. Much of that benefit probably comes from the bran, which is the fibrous coating that processing removes from whole wheat and brown rice. Bran intake alone was linked with up to 6% lower overall death risk and up to 20% lower cardiovascular disease-related risk. Listen in as John P. Higgins, MD, discusses diets rich in whole grains and how eating them can help you live longer.
