Eating a bowl of porridge made with whole grains can lower people's risks of developing cancer. The recent findings came from a review by scientists from Harvard University.
The major review, which studied almost 800,000 people, found that eating 70 grams of whole grains (or one bowl of porridge) every day decreases the risk of all-cause death by 22 percent and cancer death by 20 percent, The Telegraph reported. Whole grains can also lower the risk of dying from cardiovascular problems by 20 percent.
Dr. Qi Sun, assistant professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, said doctors should consider advising their patients to consume whole grains more. Whole grains are loaded with 25 percent more protein than refined grains like pasta, white rice and white flour.
Other Benefits Of Whole Grains
According to scientists, whole grains, bran and quinoa can also help decrease cholesterol levels, regulate blood sugar, increase bone mineral density, provide healthy gut bacteria, lower blood pressure and reduce diabetes risk. Aside from those impressive benefits, the grains are capable of making people feel full so they are not compelled to eat or snack on junk foods.
Whole grains contain nutrients like copper, iron, thiamine, manganese, zinc and antioxidants that can fight cancer cells. Tim Key, a scientist at Cancer Research UK and professor at the University of Oxford, said previous studies have found that eating fiber and whole grains can reduce people's bowel cancer risk. Other sources of fiber and whole grain are brown rice, whole wheat pasta and whole meal or granary bread.
Consuming fruits and vegetables and staying away from red and processed meat can also lower bowel cancer risk. Unhealthy lifestyle factors, however, can trump those benefits.
A new Eatwell Guide published by Public Health England, or PHE, said the recommended fiber intake per day is 30 grams. Majority of the people only consume about 19 grams of fiber every day, a far cry from what was suggested by experts.
Mediterranean Diet Preventing Breast Cancer From Returning?
Recent reports found that consuming a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and olive oil can prevent breast cancer from coming back, according to a study presented at the recent American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. Healthy eating combined with physical activity can do wonders on cancer survivors' health, The Guardian reported.
A Mediterranean diet is said to lower heart disease and stroke risk by 30 percent, the NHS wrote. This balanced and healthy diet originated from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea like France, Greece and Italy.
