No one would argue that whole grains are not a healthy choice. A recent study of over 75,000 female nurses reports that women who ate the most whole grains had the lowest rats of ischemic stroke.
Ischemic stroke is the type caused when blood flow to the brain is blocked.
There were 352 confirmed cases of stroke in this group over 12 years. The biggest problem with this type of study is that a number of health behaviors correlate. Women who ate the most whole grains also smoke less, weigh less, have generally healthier diets, take more vitamin supplements, etc. Another problem with this type of study is that there are often significant changes in diet over time. Four questionnaires given over 11 years were analyzed for this study.