A new study has revealed that consumption of refined grains like white bread, pasta, noodles, croissants and baked foods are more likely to cause cardiovascular diseases like heart attack and other major heart problems even proving to be fatal.
- Higher risk of stroke, heart disease, and early death reported as a result of consuming a higher number of refined grains
- More than seven servings of refined grains per day is harmful
- Whole grains and white rice consumption do not associate with any serious health concerns
The study suggested that having more than seven servings of refined grains in a day was associated with a greater risk for early death, 47 percent greater risk for stroke, and 33 percent greater risk for heart disease. While previous researches have indicated that a healthy diet includes limiting overly processed and refined foods, this study re-affirms the position.
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Refined grains are a major contributor to people’s diets all over the world. All popular staple dishes like noodles, pasta, pizza, white bread, etc. come within the category of refined grains. Eating too much of such refined grains can lead to major health problems and hence should be avoided.
The study was published in The British Journal and the team conducting the study examined diets of diverse populations involving over 1.3 lakh participants from varying income level countries for 16 years.
Further, for the study, grains were categorized into three sub-groups: refined grains, whole grains, and white rice. Refined grains included foods made with refined flour or ‘maida’ such as white bread, noodles, pasta, breakfast cereals, crackers, bakery products, and desserts containing refined grains.
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Whole grains included whole grain flours like oats. Consumption of whole grains did not indicate any significant adverse health effects. Similarly, consumption of white rice also was not associated with any grave health concerns, as per the study.
In fact, even within the whole grains category, the study suggested eating whole-grain foods like brown rice and barley, as compared to cereal grains and refined wheat products.
