According to a study published in a recent issue of the American Archives of Internal Medicine, for men over 40, the lifetime risk of developing heart failure is about 20%, while a breakfast rich in whole-grain cereals can lower the risk of developing hypertension, coronary heart disease, and high cholesterol.
Researchers from Birmingham Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston investigated 21,376 male participants (with an average age of 53.7 years) in the "Physicians' Health Study" to analyze the relationship between the intake of whole-grain cereal breakfast and the incidence of heart failure. They assessed the consumption of whole-grain cereal breakfasts through food frequency questionnaires and analyzed the occurrence of heart failure using annual follow-up questionnaires, with an average follow-up period of nearly 20 years.
During the study period, a total of thousands of participants developed heart failure. Among them, 362 out of nearly 7,000 people who never ate whole-grain foods developed the disease; 237 out of nearly 5,000 people who ate whole-grain foods once a week or less became ill; 230 out of 5,000 people who ate whole-grain foods an average of 2 to 6 times a week became ill; and only 189 out of 4,000 people who ate whole-grain foods more than 7 times a week developed the disease.
The researchers concluded that eating more whole-grain cereal breakfasts can reduce the likelihood of developing heart failure. The relationship between the two may stem from the protective effect of whole-grain foods against heart failure caused by conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. If other studies can also confirm this effect of whole-grain foods, then a higher intake of whole-grain foods, combined with other preventive measures, can effectively reduce the risk of developing heart failure.