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A TEAM OF Cleveland Clinic researchers, in collaboration with Nestlé Research Center, conducted one of the largest con- trolled studies of its kind on whole grains and concluded that a diet rich in whole grains may significantly lower the risk of cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese adults under the age of 50. T h e f i n d i n g s , p u b l i s h e d i n T h e Journal of Nutrition October 19, 2016, suggest that whole grains can be a key regulator of blood pressure, and could provide an ežective nutritional strategy to reduce cardiovascular-related deaths and disorders. Researchers conducted a double-blind, randomized, controlled crossover trial. In the study, a group of 33 overweight and obese adults followed a whole grain diet (intervention) or a refined grain diet (control) for two eight-week periods. The diets were exactly the same, except for their content of whole grains or refined grains. At the beginning and end of each diet period, pa r ticipa nts spent three days undergoing metabolic testing in a clinical research setting. Participants taking antihypertensive medication were instructed to maintain medication usage throughout the study. While on the whole grain diet, par- ticipants saw a three-fold improvement in diastolic blood pressure (the lowest pressure when your heart relaxes between beats) compared to the refined grain diet. This improvement equates to reducing the risk of death from heart disease by almost one-third, and the risk of death from a stroke by two-fifths. "The uniqueness of this study is that each of the 33 participants consumed both diets," says John Kirwan, Ph.D., principal investigator and Director of the Metabolic Translational Research Center, which is part of Cleveland Clinic's Endocrinology & Metabolism Institute. "This level of control can only be per- formed for small numbers and provides the essential empirical data that cannot be obtained from large observational studies. These evidence-based data demonstrate the ežect of diet on cardiovascular dis- ease outcomes, particularly diastolic blood pressure." Hypertension is a common obesity- related condition that a f fects about 30 percent of U.S. adults, and it is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Before age 50, an elevated diastolic blood pressure is associated with increased ca rdiovascula r disease risk. As they age, people with elevated diastolic blood pressure are at a higher-than-average r isk of developing elevated systolic blood pressure. Overall, there were substantial reduc- tions in body weight, fat loss, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol during both diet periods, but these dižerences were due to the people changing their normal dietary habits to carefully controlled diets. This collaborative research began in 2010. It was supported by an investigator- initiated grant from Nestlé, NIH National Center for Research Resources Grant U L1R R024989, a nd NIH Gra nt T32 DK007319. Nestlé Product Technology Cent er, S olon a nd Cerea l Pa r t ner s Worldwide provided the study mea ls and foods. ■ Whole Grain Diet Reduces Cardiovascular Disease Risk Study Finds Whole Grain Diet Reduces Cardiovascular Disease Risk 2 0R E C E N T R E S E A R C H