Breakfast cereals confer heart health benefits
People who eat cereal fibre regularly (seven or more times a week) have a 28% lower risk of developing heart failure according to new research. The US study entitled Physician's Health Study adds to a body of evidence for the protective effects of fibre against heart disease. In the study, the risk of heart failure fell by 22% in those who eat the cereals two to six times a week and by 14 % in those who eat them up to once week.[i]
In a systemic review, both cereal and fruit fibre intakes were found to be inversely associated with risk of CHD. For each 10g per day increase in total fibre intake, the risk of all coronary events decreased by 14% and risk of coronary death fell by 27%.[ii]
One new area of research is the relationship between enterolactone levels in the blood and CHD risk. Enterolactone is a biomarker of a diet high in fibre as it's a product of fibre fermentation by gut bacteria.
A 12-year prospective study looking at CHD risk factors among Finnish men found serum enterolactone levels to vary 10-fold, and with each 10nmol/l increase in serum levels risk of CHD-related mortality fell by 17% and risk of CVD-related mortality fell by 13%. Men with high serum enterolactone levels (>23.9nmol/l) had a 56% reduction in risk of CHD-related death compared to those with low serum enterolactone levels (<6.9nmol/l).[iii] The strongest determinant of enterolactone levels was dietary fibre intake. Further research is required to corroborate these findings and to explore the potential protective effect in women.
[i] Pereira MA, O'Reilly E, Augustsson K et al (2004) Dietary fibre and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease. Archives internal Medicine 164: 370-376
[ii] Vanharanta M, Voutilainen S, Rissanen TH et al (2007) Risk of cardiovascular disease-related and all-cause death according to serum concentrations of enterolactone. Archives of Internal Medicine 163: 1099-1104
[iii] The National Children's Food Survey (NCFS), March 2004. Irish Universities Nutrition Alliance (IUNA)