Eating whole grains such as wheat berries, barley or brown rice has been linked to better survival over the long term.
Harvard epidemiologists studied nearly 75,000 female nurses (the Nurses’ Health Study) and 44,000 male health professionals (the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study) for more than 20 years. All participants filled out comprehensive questionnaires about their diets every few years.
The scientists discovered that people who ate more whole grains were about 10 percent less likely to die from any cause and about 15 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease. The researchers concluded that
“a diet enriched with whole grains may confer benefits toward extended life expectancy.”
[JAMA Internal Medicine, online Jan. 5, 2015]
If you would like recipes to help you make tasty meals with whole grains, we suggest our book, Recipes & Remedies from The People’s Pharmacy. It has delicious recipes from some of the country’s leading experts on nutrition.