Women with type-2 diabetes may be able to improve their heart health by consuming a diet rich in bran, according to a new Harvard School of Public Health study.
For the research, lead author Lu Qi and his colleagues analyzed the medical data and food frequency questionnaires of 7,822 diabetic women who took part in the Nurses’ Health Study, which began in 1976. During the 26 years of the study, a total of 852 deaths had occurred, including 295 cardiovascular-related fatalities.
After adjusting for risk factors, the investigators found that women who consumed the highest levels of bran had a 55 percent lower risk of death from all causes and a 64 percent reduced risk of a heart-related mortality than those who consumed the smallest amounts of the whole grain component.
Although the survey only included women, Qi noted that he believes diabetic men will receive the same benefit from adding more bran into the diet.
"We do recommend that, when people with diabetes choose a grain product, they should choose a whole-grain product," Stephanie Dunbar, director of clinical affairs at the American Diabetes Association, told Health Day News. "It should be brown rice instead of white rice, whole-wheat bread rather than white bread."