172
videos
Grains
Consistent with recommendations from leading cancer and heart disease authorities, my recommended Daily Dozen includes at least three servings of whole grains a day. Harvard University’s preeminent twin nutrition studies—the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study—have so far accumulated nearly three million person-years of data. A 2015 analysis found that people who eat more whole grains tend to live significantly longer lives independent of other measured dietary and lifestyle factors.
A diet rich in whole grains, for example, may yield the same benefits as taking high blood pressure medications without the adverse side effects commonly associated with antihypertensive drugs, such as electrolyte disturbances in those taking diuretics; increased breast cancer risk for those taking calcium-channel blockers; lethargy and impotence for those on beta blockers; sudden, potentially life-threatening swelling for those taking ACE inhibitors; and an increased risk of serious fall injuries for apparently any class of these blood pressure drugs.
Indeed, eating whole grains appears to reduce the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, and stroke. Eating more whole grains could potentially save the lives of more than a million people around the world every year. Take note of the whole, however. While whole grains, such as oats, whole wheat, and brown rice, have been shown to reduce our risk of developing chronic disease, refined grains may actually increase risk.
People who ate the most whole grains had significantly slower narrowing of two of the most important arteries in our body: the coronary arteries that feed the heart and the carotid arteries that feed our brain. Since atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries is our leading killer, we should not just slow down the process but actually stop or even reverse it altogether, and eating more whole grains, whole vegetables, whole fruits, whole beans, and other whole plant foods can help with that.
Image Credit: Melissa Askew / Unsplash. This image has been modified.
Popular Videos for Grains
Getting Starch to Take the Path of Most Resistance
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What can we eat to increase good gut bacteria richness in our colon?
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Boiling rice like pasta reduces arsenic levels, but how much nutrition is lost?
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Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen Checklist
In my book How Not to Die, I center my recommendations around a Daily Dozen...All Videos for Grains
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Best Foods for Halitosis & Gingivitis
The best and worst foods for bad breath and gum inflammation.
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How to Treat Periodontitis with Diet
Plant-based diets are put to the test in the treatment of periodontal disease.
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Is Fiber an Effective Anti-Inflammatory?
Most Americans get less than half the recommended minimum fiber intake a day and the benefits of fiber go way beyond bowel regularity.
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The Gladiator Diet: How Vegetarian Athletes Stack Up
Comparing the diets of the Roman gladiator “barley men” and army troopers to the modern Spartans of today.
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Is Cheese Healthy? Compared to What?
Dairy is compared to other foods for cardiovascular (heart attack and stroke) risk.
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Benefits of a Macrobiotic Diet for Diabetes
What happens when you add massive amounts of carbs to the daily diet of type 2 diabetics in the form of whole grains?
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Pros and Cons of a Macrobiotic Diet
What happens when you put diabetics on a diet composed of largely whole grains, vegetables, and beans?
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Best Food for Periodontal Disease & Gingivitis
What would happen if you stopped brushing your teeth but ate healthier?
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The Best Advice on Diet and Cancer
What the best available balance of evidence says right now about what to eat and avoid to reduce your risk of cancer.
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How to Treat Jet Lag with Melatonin-Rich Food
There may be a way to get the benefits of over-the-counter melatonin supplements without the risk.
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Are Apples the Best Food for a Better Sex Life in Women?
Addyi (flibanserin), the drug marketed for “hypoactive sexual desire disorder,” is ineffective and unsafe. What about dietary approaches for female sexual dysfunction?
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How to Lower Heavy Metal Levels with Diet
What dietary change can simultaneously help detoxify mercury, lead, and cadmium from the body?
