Micronutrients & recovery
A whole-grain cereal-rich diet tends to decrease total and LDL-cholesterol compared to a refined-grain diet in healthy subjects, although the effect was not statistically significant at the conventional 0.05 level.
While the cholesterol-lowering effect of whole grains may not be statistically significant in short-term studies of healthy people, the trend toward lower LDL (9% decrease) supports the general recommendation to eat whole grains for heart health. Focus on the consistent elevation of beneficial compounds like betaine.
After 2 weeks, the WG diet tended to decrease plasma total and LDL-cholesterol (both P=0·09)... compared with the RG diet.
Why this rating
Small sample size (n=17) and short duration (2 weeks) limit the statistical power to detect modest changes in cholesterol.
Source
A whole-grain cereal-rich diet increases plasma betaine, and tends to decrease total and LDL-cholesterol compared with a refined-grain diet in healthy subjects
Alastair B. Ross et al. · British Journal Of Nutrition · 2011
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