Breakfast of Champions

by Diane Lofshult

Food for Thought:

Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of hospitalization among older adults in the United States. Eating whole-grain and high-fiber foods has been shown to reduce the risk of hypertension and myocardial infarction. Until recently, however, scientists did not know whether a higher consumption of breakfast cereals could reduce the risk of HF.

Now a study in the October 22, 2007, issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests there may indeed be a link between breakfast consumption and HF. The subjects were 21,376 participants in the ongoing Physicians’ Health Study I. Cereal consumption was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire, whereas the incidence of HF was evaluated by charting annual follow-up questionnaires.

During an average follow-up period of 19.6 years, more than 1,000 cases of HF occurred in the study group. Participants who ate more breakfast cereal were less likely to contract HF. However, the association between reduced HF risk and increased cereal consumption was limited to intake of whole-grain products, not refined cereals.

“Our data demonstrate that a higher intake of whole-grain breakfast cereals is associated with a lower risk of HF,” the researchers concluded. “Additional studies are warranted to confirm these findings and determine specific nutrients that are responsible for such a protection.”