Whole Grains May Assist Weight Management Goals

Nutritional experts recommend that adults consume at least half of all grains as whole grains – which includes the bran, germ, and endosperm portions of the grain kernel. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) enrolled 79 overweight/obese postmenopausal women in a 12 week long study. Each subject was assigned to consume and energy restricted diet consisting of either refined or whole-grain wheat products. At the end of the study term, both diets resulted in weight loss –the greater loss was observed in the whole-grain group, with subjects dropping an average of 3.6 kg, as compared to 2.7 kg on the refined wheat diet. The whole-grain diet group experienced an average 3% reduction of body fat, where as the refined wheat diet group experienced 2.1% reduction. Total and LDL (low-density lipoprotein, "bad") cholesterol increased by about 5% in the refined wheat diet group, whereas no such changes were observed in the whole-grain group. Taken collectively, the study authors submit that the physiological changes experience with whole grain diets "suggest a cardioprotective role for whole grain.”