More Whole Grains for More Weight Loss
Another research study touts the benefits of a diet that is high in whole grains. This particular study, which was published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, claims that whole grain diets can dramatically help with weight loss and can also help decrease the risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Fifty obese adults put themselves up for scrutiny. They ranged between 20 and 65 years of age and, at the outset, all were known to have metabolic syndrome. As selected randomly, one group dined on whole grains and the other ate mostly refined grains. “We asked participants in the whole grain group to focus on foods that had whole grains as the first ingredient,” said lead author Heather Katcher, a Penn State Ph.D. recipient and dietetic intern at Tulane University.
To control for other possible diet variations, participants in the 12-week study ate mostly similar foods: five servings of fruit and vegetables, three servings of low fat dairy products and two servings of lean meat, fish and poultry. They all received similar counseling on weight loss and were encouraged to engage in moderate exercise.
The team of researchers (from Penn State University Park and the College of Medicine) discovered that “waist circumference and body weight decreased significantly in both groups - between 8-11 pounds on average - but weight loss in the abdominal region was significantly greater in the whole grain group.”
The whole grain group also saw a drop in C-reactive protein levels. This is important because this is an indicator of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.
These findings support evidence that says a whole grain diet can lower your complications from certain medical conditions. This information is especially beneficial at a time when there are many whole grain products available. However, researchers caution that one eats the right type of grains: “There are a lot of foods around that claim they contain whole grain but are not really major sources of whole grain,’ said Kris Etherton, distinguished professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State.
Etherton recommends whole grain foods where at least 51 percent of the grain comes from whole grain. These include oatmeal, whole grain cereal, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta and snacks such as granola bars, popcorn and whole-wheat crackers.
For research and more information, click: here.
Written by Alexandra M. Haller for Her Active Life. | Permalink | Have something to say? Add a Comment!
Section: Her Nutrition, Healthy Eating, Weight Control, Her News
meditation, yoga, her-nutrition, healthy-eating, weight-control, her-news |