While the debate rages on over low- and no-carbohydrate diets, an international study reiterates that a diet high in whole grains as well as fruits and vegetables significantly reduces the risk of heart disease.

"There is a lot of controversy right now about how much carbohydrate we should have in our diet verses fat and protein," says lead author of the study, Dr. Mark A. Pereira.

But this study, he says, reinforces the current dietary guidelines that suggest the base of your diet should be fibre-rich fruit, vegetables and grains.

Pereira and his colleagues collected data on 91,058 men and 245,186 women who participated in 10 studies in the United States and Europe. The study looked at the foods the participants ate and measured the amount of fibre in the participants' diets.

For each 10 grams of fibre consumed a day, the risk of heart disease was reduced by 14 per cent, Pereira says. They also found a 27 pe rcent decrease in the risk of dying from heart disease.

The association between fibre and death from heart disease was particularly strong, the study says. For every 10 grams of cereal fibre consumed a day, the risk for death from heart disease was lowered by 25 per cent. For every 10 grams of fruit fibre consumer daily, the risk dropped 30 per cent.

The researchers determined the findings were independent of other factors that reduce the risk for heart disease, such as not smoking, exercising and weight control, he says.

"If you are concerned about your risk for heart disease, one of the key features of your diet should be plant-based foods," Pereira says. "In order to include 25 to 30 grams of fibre per day, your diet has to be primarily high quality carbohydrates."

The benefits from grain come from whole grains - not from highly processed grains, such as those found in white bread or white rice, he adds.

For more information about healthy living visit HealthyOntario.

March 2004

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